Still Recruiting
by SaffronFields023
Summary: With Harry and his friends on the run, the remaining members of Dumbledore's Army must take their place and lead. Lots of teenage rebellion, evil professors and a headmaster who wants them dead. Takes place during 7th year.
1. Chapter 1

**Got logged out of my old account (101olive4u) so I'm giving it a go with a new account. Hey guys, thanks for stopping by to read this story! Hope I'm not the only one who still reads/writes Harry Potter fanfics...**

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"I'll be fine, mum." Ginny said soothingly as she tried to pry her hands out of her mother's vice grip.

Mrs. Weasley frowned. "But everything is going to be different this year." She choked. "With Dumbledore gone, I don't know what is going to happen."

"I'll be fine." Ginny repeated.

"Be wary around Snape," her mother continued. "Keep quiet and don't provoke anything when you see him. I know that Dumbledore trusted him, but after his death and what happened to George-" Mrs. Weasley fell silent and looked down, hiding her face from her daughter.

Ginny squeezed her hands. "I'll be fine," she repeated a final time. "Plus I don't have Ron to look after this year. I don't need to keep him out of trouble."

"But who's going to keep you out of trouble?"

"Neville," Ginny told her firmly. "And all of my other friends. I'll tell them that they have special orders from you to watch my behavior."

Mrs. Weasley smiled weakly and squeezed Ginny's hands. A knock on the door suddenly broke the silence.

"Goodness, is it that time already?" She dried her eyes and wiped her hands on her apron before heading over to the door.

"Are they here?" Mr. Weasley appeared, carrying Ginny's trunk. He set it down beside her before joining his wife at the door. "Now remember Molly, we still have to question them."

"But we're expecting them," Mrs. Weasley argued.

"We have to keep Ginny safe, imagine if we sent her along with some strangers?"

"That's enough, Arthur." Before her husband could object, Molly opened the door and ushered their guests in. Ginny could see Neville and his grandmother from behind her parents. She grinned and waved. He returned the gesture before Mr. Weasley eagerly grabbed his hand, shaking it quickly.

"Bye Bill," Ginny called into the other room. "I'm leaving soon."

Bill and Fleur entered the kitchen moments later. Bill gave her a large hug. "Stay safe," he whispered. Ginny nodded mutely. Fleur hugged her and kissed her cheeks, murmuring an _au revoir._

"You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye to us, were you?" Ginny couldn't help but grin as she turned to see the twins standing on the landing of the staircase. They were dressed in plain black robes, lacking the usual bright uniforms. George was sporting a bandage around his head.

"Never," she replied as they walked down the stairs.

"Stay safe, squirt." George ruffled her hair and kissed her cheek. "But still do what you have to do."

"Keep Dumbledore's Army strong." Fred added as he hugged her. "Now, more than ever, Hogwarts needs it."

"Thanks." Ginny smiled. "Can I rely on you two to supply us with Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?"

"Of course." They scoffed.

"Ginny?" Her parents called from the doorway. Fred and George squished her in a final bear hug before gently pushing her forward.

"See you at Christmas!" Fred called.

Ginny hugged her parents a last time, promising that she would be precautions and stay out of trouble and send them letters. ("They'll be searching the Hogwarts mail, so don't put anything too personal in your letters." Mrs. Weasley warned.) She kissed them both then hauled her trunk out the door.

"Have a good summer?" Neville asked once they had left the Burrow.

"Pretty good," Ginny shrugged. "My brother got married but the wedding was crashed."

Neville nodded solemnly. "Luna told me in a letter. How's Ron doing? Your parents mentioned that he was sick."

"Yeah. Spattergroit. He looks disgusting."

"I imagine so." Neville smirked. "Is it bad?"

"He'll recover."

Augusta Longbottom stopped the pair. "It's time. Neville? Would you like to try it?" She asked.

Neville looked nervous. "Really? I haven't had much practice. Maybe you should-"

His grandmother rolled her eyes. "For goodness sakes! I'm too old for that. You're doing it. Now, Ginny dear, make sure you have your trunk held tightly-good, good. You too, Neville."

Ginny held her trunk with one hand and Neville's hand with the other. Mrs. Longbottom clutched both of their shoulders tightly. In an instant, the sprawling meadows were gone and they were in front of the station.

"Not bad, Neville." Ginny leaned dizzily on her trunk. "We're all here in one piece, aren't we?"

"Yeah. I guess we are." Neville looked pleased.

"Quickly now. Let's get through the gateway." Augusta Longbottom adjusted her hat before leading the way into the train station.

When they had made it through the barrier, Ginny looked around with an heavy heart. The crowd of students and parents was significantly smaller. There were no excited younger students running around the platform, no chatty older students cracking jokes with one another, no hustle and bustle. Instead, parents had solemn looks on their faces as they hugged their children tightly. Friends huddled closely together, either speaking quietly or saying nothing at all.

Ministry officers were scattered all over the platform. Ginny watched as families bowed their heads and quickly walked past them. One approached her and Neville asking for their papers. They immediately handed them over. The officer scanned them and nodded, stamping the papers and returning them.

"This is terrible!" Ginny hissed to Neville when they had passed by the woman. She stuffed her papers in her bag. "Everyone is scared to death."

"I know," Neville sighed. He looked around sadly.

"Neville!" Augusta Longbottom beckoned him over.

Neville sighed. "I'd better say goodbye to her. See you in a bit?"

Ginny nodded. "I'll get us a compartment. Find me when you're done?"

"I'll take the trunks." Neville patted her shoulder then dragged both trunk over to his grandmother.

She suddenly felt lonely standing there. It was the first time in years that she was without her parents and brothers at the platform. It was weird, being alone. No Percy, bossing everyone around. No Ron, snacking on something smuggled from home. No Fred and George, causing mayhem. It was just her. Ginny shook off the strange feeling and boarded the train.

To her relief, she saw some familiar faces. Her ex-boyfriend, Michael Corner, was standing in the hallway. His brown hair had gotten lighter and he was tan from the summer. She recognized his two best friends, the dirty blonde, blue-eyed one being Terry Boot and the dark hair, dark-eyed Anthony Goldstein. Both of them were equally tan. Ginny remembered them as being fairly kind.

Michael noticed her and smiled slightly. He whispered something to his friends. They nodded and walked past Ginny down the corridor, both giving her polite smiles.

"Hello, Ginny. How are you?"

"Surviving," Ginny shrugged. "How about you? Have a good summer?"

Michael shrugged. "It was okay. Um-" he looked down. "Terry's mum was taken in July. We don't know where she is."

"That's terrible. I'm sorry." Ginny said, genuinely shocked.

"Yeah. It was a rough summer. We took him and Tony to Italy with us over the holiday. Some Death Eaters broke into mine and Terry's houses while we were gone so that trip kind of saved our lives."

Ginny nodded, remembering that Terry had a muggleborn mother. Michael's parents were both half bloods. "I was wondering where the tan came from."

Michael looked at his arms sheepishly. "I didn't even notice. Yeah, it was a nice break from all this." He looked out the window at the sad people. "It's going to be a long year."

Ginny nodded again. "It will." The two stood in serious yet comfortable silence until Michael cleared his throat.

"I should probably go find Tony and Terry." He said.

Ginny smiled. "Go ahead, I should go find my friends, too. See you around."

The two parted ways in opposite directions. As Ginny searched for more familiar faces, she couldn't help but remember how good Michael was to her when they were together. Dean, too. They were both wonderful, and Ginny felt a sudden feeling of regret for treating them so coldly after the breakups.

A compartment door opened up and someone grabbed her hand, dragging her in. Ginny thrashed in the grip until she was released. She looked up, only to have the anger melt off her face.

Parvati and Lavender were standing in front of her, their arms open. Relieved that they weren't people trying to kidnap her, Ginny accepted their hugs. The two of them guided her to the seats and they sat down.

"How've you been?" Parvati asked earnestly, clasping Ginny's hands with her own.

Ginny sighed. "Doing only okay, to be honest."

"How's your family doing?" Lavender asked, scooting closer.

"We're managing. Ron has spattergroit."

Lavender's eyes widened. "Really? How awful. Is he coming back this year?"

"No, he's staying home." Ginny searched Lavender's face for any signs of the other girl still having feelings for her brother.

Lavender noticed and laughed. "Oh, honey, don't worry. I'm over your brother." She gave a sultry look to a sixth year brunette boy who had just passed by the compartment with his friends. "I've got my eyes on someone better. I heard his accent on the platform and it was love at first sight."

Ginny laughed, for the first time all day. It felt good. "Good. I'm glad to see that this war hasn't changed you, Lavender."

Parvati frowned. "This is going to be a tough year, with Snape as headmaster. Did you see the platform? Practically half the school is gone."

Lavender nodded. "It's going to be lonely in our dorm room, Vati." She turned to Ginny pleadingly. "Stay in our room whenever you want. Please. It'll be so empty without Hermione." She looked down. "I hate to have left things so rocky with her last year. I wish I could've apologized. She and your brother are destined to be, you know?"

Ginny nodded. "They really are. Now they have to realize it now that everyone else has."

Lavender frowned at her hands. "And now Hermione is on the run, probably fighting for her life. I treated her terribly last year. But honestly, I'm going to miss her lots. Especially because Ellen and Aamira's parents both pulled them out of school the year before last, it was only the three of us." She turned to Parvati. "And now it's just the two of us."

"It'll also be weird without Dean-" Parvati began, then stopped suddenly, looking at Ginny sheepishly.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You can talk about Dean, Parvati, no need for my permission. He's a great guy, we're on okay terms. Now, what about him?"

Parvati looked suddenly sad. "He's not coming back this year."

Ginny sat up quickly. "What?"

"He can't prove that he's a half blood. His dad left when he was a baby and his muggle mum got remarried to another muggle. The ministry thinks he's muggle born."

Ginny looked ahead, dumbfounded. She felt terrible for never knowing that. And she had been his _girlfriend._

"I'm sorry, Ginny." Parvati put a hand on her arm. "Have I upset you?"

"Of course not," Ginny mumbled quietly. The train jerked and began to slowly pull away from the station. Both Parvati and Lavender waved at their parents as they passed them. Ginny arched her neck, looking out the window for a red headed clan, before remembering that they were locked away in the Burrow. She leaned back, embarrassed.

"I'm going to miss Dean." Parvati said in a hushed voice. Lavender nodded.

Ginny nudged Parvati. "Seems like you two got close, yeah? There's always kind of been something between you two."

"We're good friends." Parvati searched Ginny's face for any sign of understanding. When she saw none, she laughed disbelievingly. "Honey, he's gay."

"What?" Once again, Ginny was shocked.

"Sorry, I know he was your ex-boyfriend." Parvati put a hand over her mouth to cover her giggles..

"No, it's fine." Ginny was crestfallen. "Wait, really?"

"He told me in the last letter he sent to me over the summer."

Ginny rubbed her temples, elbows propped on her knees, still trying to process the new information. Lavender and Parvati shared an amused look. Finally, Ginny leaned back against the seat and shrugged. "I guess we always were more like friends than lovers."

Parvati and Lavender burst out laughing. "Sorry you had to find out from me, Ginny. Must seem kind of weird." Parvati shrugged. "I think I knew which way he swung even before he did."

"Huh." Ginny shook her head.

The girls chatted for the next hour until Ginny realized something. "Damn." She jumped to her feet. "I was supposed to find Neville and Luna over thirty minutes ago!"

Lavender smiled kindly. "Go! Don't let us hold you back."

Parvati nodded. "Go find them. Padma should be coming in soon anyway."

Ginny shot them both a grateful look. "I'll see you two at the feast."

She quietly shut the door behind her and trudged down the hall. She searched compartment after compartment until she found herself face to face with a sour expression. She stumbled in surprise, knocking her shoulder into his.

"Watch it, Weaslette." Malfoy spat, giving her a cold glare. He dusted off the shoulder she had hit with a flick of his hand.

Ginny scowled at him before pushing past, continuing her search down the corridor.

"No Potter with you?" Malfoy called tauntingly.

"Go to hell," she shouted over her shoulder.

Ten minutes later, Ginny finally entered the correct compartment. "There you are!" Neville jumped to his feet. "You had me thinking that you were captured."

Luna smiled serenely from beside Neville. "I told him that either a Snabberwitch had you held captive somewhere or that you were with other friends."

Ginny smiled guiltily. "I was with Parvati and Lavender-oh, sit down, Neville-sorry I wasn't here sooner."

"How are they doing?" Luna asked, flipping through an upside down copy of the Quibbler. "I talked with Padma briefly. She claimed to be fine but was giving off a very unsure kind of vibe."

"Same as the rest of us."

Luna nodded with a frown. "We're in a rather unfortunate situation, aren't we?"

"School isn't going to be much better, what with Snape as headmaster." Ginny said.

"Snape is cruel and cold, he won't hesitate to strike at us. I want you both to stay out of trouble, got it?" Neville said, leaning forward and looking each of them in the eyes.

"Way to kill the mood, Nev." Ginny rolled her eyes. "Luna and I will be fine, won't we Luna?"

"Naturally." Luna hummed.

"I'm serious. Do you promise?"

"Sure, Nev. Now let's stop talking about this, it's depressing."

Luna curled herself up in the corner of the compartment, clutching her magazine. Ginny sat across from her, dropping her small bag onto the empty seat beside her. She rested her chin in the cup of her hand and let the gentle rumble of the train lull her to sleep.

It was the screeching brakes that suddenly woke her with a start. The Hogwarts Express came to an clamoring stop on the tracks, sending Ginny flying across the compartment. She crashed into Luna and the two of them toppled to the ground. Throughout the halls, cries of terror could be heard. The lights flickered. Neville leapt to his feet and whipped his wand out of his sleeve. As he started towards the door, Ginny grabbed onto his ankle.

"Neville," she gasped, "wait." She used the hem of his robes and then his arm to pull herself up. "Okay, let's 'll be back soon, Luna." She whispered, pulling her wand from her pocket. Luna groaned and rubbed the back of her head where it had slammed into the wall when Ginny fell on her.

As they entered the hallway, they could see other heads poking out of doors into the dim lighting. Ginny jerked her head to the left and Neville nodded and followed her.

"Ginny!" Demelza Robins, one of Ginny's close friends, hissed from her compartment door and grabbed Ginny's hand as she passed by. "Ginny, what's going on?"

"I don't know." Ginny squeezed Demelza's hand and sent a reassuring look at Ritchie Coote and Andrew Kirke who were standing behind her. "Just stay here." She shut the door on them.

Neville had just shoved several Ravenclaw second years into a compartment and was shutting the door when he felt a hand on his shoulder. With a yell, he swung his arm into two torsos, sending them toppling to the ground.

"Ow, shit Neville! Watch where you're swingin'!" An angry Irish voice, Seamus. "We ain't your enemy."

"Bloody hell, that hurt." Another voice groaned, this one higher and full of annoyance. "Seamus, next time you decide to run through the dark to be a hero, leave me out of it. I was perfectly fine in my dark compartment before you came along." Susan Bones.

"Is everyone alright here?" An out-of-breath voice joined the clump of people in the hallway. Michael Corner.

"Lumos." Padma Patil lit her wand from beside Michael, a soft blue light dancing off the compartment door windows. Neville could see all the scared faces pressed against the glass, peering out at them.

"Anyone have any bloody idea what's going on?" Seamus asked after being helped off the ground by Padma and Susan. "Because I'd like it very much if we could get going. The Great Hall has a piping hot meal with my name on it."

The train gave another jolt from where it sat, sending everyone to the floor once again.

"Bloody hell!"

"What's goin' on 'ere?!"

"Lumos." A dark and grating voice in the distance murmured.

Ginny, from atop the pile, sat up suddenly, ears alert. "Who said that?"

"Who's that down there?" Michael hissed and pointed towards the end of the hall where there was a distant light. Everyone craned their necks to see.

The voice gave a low chuckle and the light bobbed closer. From behind it, several other wands lit up with the spell. Ginny could make out six figures drawing nearer and nearer. She could feel herself growing uneasier by the second.

"Who are they?" Susan whispered, fumbling for her wand on the ground.

"We come looking for a couple of friends of yours." The man was finally in front of them, his wand basking his scarred face in light. Ginny felt a chill run down her spine as she looked into the face of Rabastan Lestrange. "None will be hurt if everyone just cooperates." He turned to his fellow Death Eaters and nodded. "Search the train." They nodded and half of them disapparated while the other three started throwing compartment doors open. Shrieks rang through the walls.

Ginny leapt to her feet and started pulling her friends up by their elbows. "We have to stop them! Come on!"

Neville and Padma sprinted after a Death Eater that was dragging a screaming fourth year Hufflepuff out of her compartment. Seamus grabbed Susan's elbow and the two of them ran in the opposite direction towards two Death Eaters that were searching a compartment belonging to some small Gryffindor students. To no surprise, the Slytherins' doors remained unopened and untouched.

The train was complete chaos. Ginny yelled at the younger students to get back in their seats as she ran, slamming doors shut with her wand.

"No!" She screamed as a Death Eater pulled a tiny second year Gryffindor into the hall. She charged at the pair but the Death Eater merely laughed and grabbed the child's shoulder and they disapparated in a shot of black smoke. She halted with a gasp, arm still outstretched to grasp the now-gone child's hand. She moaned and sank to her knees, horrified at what had happened.

"Ginny!" Luna grabbed her hand, desperately trying to pull her up. She had tears in her sky eyes. "Ginny! They're taking the muggleborns that managed to get through Ministry security. They're taking children, Ginny!"

"I know, Luna. I know." Ginny murmured, biting back a sob.

Not far down the hall, Rabastan Lestrange appeared with a crack. He grabbed a Death Eater by the cloak and shook him. "Have you found him yet?" He hissed into the man's face. "Have you found the boy?"

"No." The man responded, clearly displeased.

"Hey losers!" Neville rounded a corner and stopped before the pair. "He's not here."

Rabastan punched Neville in the jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. Ginny shrieked and shot a stunner at him but it was deflected with ease.

"Let's go!" Lestrange shouted. "He's not here and we have what we came for." He disapparated on the spot. The rest of the Death Eaters followed suit until the train was silent except for the feeble sobs of the students.

Luna and Ginny staggered over to Neville, propping him upright. He groaned, choking out an _I'm fine._ Compartment doors began to open and teary faces once again poked out.

"What was that?" A fourth year Hufflepuff sobbed.

"Why did they come?" A fifth year Ravenclaw stuttered.

"I couldn't save them," Neville muttered under his breath. "I couldn't save those kids they took."

"None of us could, Neville," Ginny said softly, holding back her tears. "None of us."

Luna was in the process of fixing Neville's swollen jaw when Padma and Seamus came back, this time bringing Parvati and Lavender with them. Everyone looked visibly shaken but no one was injured.

"Let's get you sitting down, Neville." Luna said soothingly as Seamus hoisted Neville up and into the compartment. The others followed.

As Ginny was about to join them, she heard the sound of quick footsteps running down the hall. She turned just in time to see Michael breeze past her.

"Michael? What's going on?" She shouted, chasing after him.

"I've gotta find Terry!" He shouted over his shoulder. "He's been blacklisted for his mum's actions against You-Know-Who."

Ginny's eyes widened. "Shit." She ran faster.

They rounded the corner and entered a compartment. Anthony Goldstein stood alone in the center of the small room, nursing his now-forming black eye.

Ginny immediately rushed to him. "Are you alright?"

Michael let out a choked sound. "Terry? They took him?"

Anthony let out a laugh that startled the other two. "You didn't think I'd let them take him, did you?" After assuring Ginny that he was fine, Anthony pulled at the ground in front of the window. To Ginny's surprise, he lifted an invisibility cloak off the stunned body of Terry Boot.

"Our mate here wouldn't cooperate when I told him to hide so I had to stun him. The man that searched our compartment barely took a look when he saw it was only me in here."

Michael gasped in relief. He clapped Anthony's shoulder. "Tony, you brilliant bastard." He waved his wand at Terry. " _Rennervate!"_

Immediately, Terry's eyes flew open and he scrambled to his feet, wand ready. "Where'd they go?"

Michael laughed and gave him a one armed hug. "Steady, mate. They're gone."

Terry visibly relaxed. He punched Anthony in the arm. "Bloody hell, mate, next time let me fight too!"

"What, I don't get a thank you?"

Terry smiled good-naturedly. "Thank you, you saved my arse." He threw an arm over Anthony's shoulder and looked at him. "What happened to your eye?"

Anthony suddenly went red. "I went outside Malfoy's compartment and started yelling at the Slytherins. His goons punched me to shut me up."

Ginny laughed. "Was it worth it?"

"Absolutely."

Ginny leaned down and picked up the discarded cloak from the floor. "Where'd you get this?"

"It's Tony's," Michael replied as he rubbed Terry's blonde hair with his knuckles.

"It was my grandfather's. He gave it to me." Anthony added. "It's done the three of us a good many favors."

Ginny nodded, remembering that The Goldsteins were a powerful family in the Jewish wizarding community. "Do the three of you want to come back to our compartment? If you want company?"

The three of them looked at each other and smiled and nodded. "Definitely."

When they had made it back to the compartment, they found a large group squashed onto the seats and on the floor. Susan Bones, Demelza Robins, Romilda Vane, Neville, Luna, Padma, Parvati, Lavender, Seamus, Ritchie Coote and Andrew Kirke. They slipped through the door and squeezed onto the last vacant spot on the floor. The fifteen of them sat in silence, all of them shaken up but grateful for the company. Ginny looked out the window, gazing at the bleak gray sky. Michael was right, it was going to be a long year.

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 **Reviews and feedback are always appreciated. Until next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

"No quidditch, no clubs, no Hogsmede trips, no Weasley products." The new headmaster said, glaring pointedly at Ginny over his crooked nose. "Slytherin prefects will be in charge of nightly patrols from now on.. Students will walk to all meals with their house in an orderly formation. Tardiness will result in fifteen house points being taken away as well as detention. Any brooms found will be confiscated by Mister Filch. Curfew is now moved to ten o'clock… "

"When he said 'new rules', I didn't expect him to go on for twenty minutes." Seamus muttered angrily as Snape continued talking in a monotone.

"No quidditch? How dare he!" Ginny hissed, making a move to stand up. Parvati and Neville quickly latched onto her arms, preventing her from moving.

"Look at them," Lavender whispered, her focus on the Carrows. "They look so… evil."

Neville observed the new teachers. Both were pasty, squat, and mean-looking. He noticed, with disgust, the malicious glee on their faces. Their beady, dark eyes glinted in the candlelight.

The hall was silent as everyone listened to Snape. The sorting had been quick and depressing, with nearly two-thirds of the first years becoming Slytherins. Neville felt his heart sink when _Brinkley, Jane_ was called and nobody responded. She must have been taken in the train raid. He glanced at the four new Gryffindor students, all were shivering timidly several seats down from him. He then looked towards the staff table. Snape was perched on a seat grand enough to be a throne, the menacing Carrows flanking his sides. He noticed a few professors missing from the group, including the kind Professor Burbage. Trelawney looked close to tears, McGonagall was tight-lipped and silent, Sprout's eyes were full of sorrow, Flitwick was fidgety, Hagrid was shaking with anger, and Slughorn looked uncomfortable.

Neville sighed and propped up his chin with his hand, promptly putting his elbow in the butter dish that had suddenly appeared to his right. He flinched, not realizing that dinner had begun.

Ginny snorted into her mashed potatoes. "Smooth, Longbottom." Neville scowled and loaded his fork with green beans, ignoring his chuckling friends. It was good to hear them laughing again.

"Least the food hasn't changed." Seamus sighed contentedly, stacking his plate high with dinner rolls and potatoes.

"Is that really all you're thinking about right now?" Parvati scoffed. She then sighed. "My stomach is too upset to eat."

Lavender dumped some food onto her friend's plate. "Eat," she encouraged. "Starving won't do you any good." After a couple of moments, Parvati gave up and picked up some soup with her spoon.

Dinner was dismissed and the Gryffindors headed up to the Common Room. Parvati and Neville made their way to the front, talking with the first years and giving them information they needed to know. They attempted cracking jokes with them to brighten the mood but were fairly unsuccessful. The new students were scared out of their minds. Neville felt a surge of joy when one small girl let out a small giggle at one of his comments.

"Well that was a depressing dinner, wasn't it?" Ginny sighed, flopping onto the couch with Neville once the first years were situated in their dormitories.

"Yeah, it was pretty awful." Neville agreed. He felt a heavy feeling in his stomach at the thought of Snape sitting in Dumbledore's place. It was wrong on so many levels.

"So when are we holding our first meeting of the year?" Ginny asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"What? What meeting?" Neville asked, sitting up suddenly. He had a feeling that he knew exactly what is was, but he hoped that wasn't the case. _Keep her out of trouble_. _Please._ That's what Mrs. Weasley had asked him to do earlier that morning. At the time he had nodded, dumbfounded, but after the incident on the train, he was adamant on keeping that promise.

"Don't play dumb, Neville."Ginny rolled her eyes. "Dumbledore's Army? Ring any bells? When are we going to have our first meeting?"

Neville winced. Damn. He chose his next words carefully. "Maybe we should wait."

"Wait?" Ginny's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait for what?"

"Wait until things even out?" Neville said, unsure of how to convince her.

"Nev, listen. This school is going to hell if we don't do something about it. Our world is falling apart and we need to fix it." Ginny said, eyes big and pleading.

"I don't think so, Gin. It's just too dangerous."

"Why would you say that? The whole Wizarding World is dangerous right now." Ginny threw up her arms, frustration growing in her voice.

"Exactly! All that Dumbledore's Army would do is get people in trouble. That's the last thing we need right now."

"You're being such a bloody idiot right now." Ginny rose up from the couch and spun on her heels. Neville watched her storm up the stairs towards the sixth year girls dormitory and sighed. He sat alone on the overstuffed sofa for twenty minutes longer before heading up to his own dormitory. When he got there he found Seamus unpacking his bag.

"Hey," Seamus waved half-heartedly. He put down the extra robes he had in his hands and sat on his bed. "Guess it's just us this year."

Neville thought of Ron, sick in an attic. Harry, on the run from the many people who wanted him dead. Dean, in hiding like all the other muggleborns and unidentified half bloods. "Yeah, just us."

Seamus looked down at his hands. "Sorry, probably won't be as good company as the other boys."

"Don't be daft." Neville scoffed. He spotted his trunk sitting on a bed on the other side of the room. He walked over to it and hesitated before pulling it off of the bed and dragging back towards Seamus. "Mind if I take this one?" He asked, nodding at the bed closest to Seamus.

Seamus looked at him, first baffled then almost relieved. "Not at all, mate."

The two of them caught up with each other, discussing their summers and their worries for the school year. Seamus checked his watch, noting that it was getting late. Neville agreed and quickly changed out of his traveling clothes and into his pajamas. As he lay in his bed, a thousand thoughts flooded his mind. He shook his head in attempts to clear it. Sitting up, he blew out the candle on his bedside table before settling back in. He let the warm darkness of the room slowly soothe him to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

"Anyone else get no sleep last night?" Ginny asked with a yawn over the hustle of nervous first and second years in the Common Room the next morning.

Lavender, Parvati and Seamus all half-heartedly raised their hands. Neville merely nodded, purple rings clearly present under his eyes.

McGonagall walked into the bustling room and immediately a silence swept throughout the students. "Good morning, pupils, I hope you slept well." She was met with silence so she continued. "There were many…changes made this year, including mealtime. We will walk in formation to every meal as a house. If you are not ready at the time we're leaving then you must stay in the common room until your first class. There will be no students roaming the halls unsupervised, is that clear? Good. Now if the prefects could please join me…"

"This is ridiculous." Ginny muttered as Parvati and the other prefects moved forward to assist McGonagall. "First they take away Quidditch and clubs now they're threatening to starve us if we're not on time?"

"Completely unfair." Neville agreed, glad Ginny was still talking to him after their brief argument the night before. The Gryffindors exited the Common Room with McGonagall at the front of the orderly crowd.

Snape watched from his throne-like perch as they entered the Great Hall. His lip curled in disdain but had no reason to reprimand them. He made eye contact with Neville and his scowl deepened. Neville returned the glare as he sat down and loaded his plate with breakfast. McGonagall made sure everyone was seated before passing out schedules for the year.

"Professor?" Lavender tentatively raised her hand. McGonagall turned around from where she was enchanting time tables to fly to their owners.

"Yes, Miss Brown?"

"I don't remember signing up for a Dark Arts class," Lavender said, tracing a line of her schedule with her index finger.

McGonagall stiffened. Her eyes drifted towards the staff table, where Amycus Carrow was greedily tearing a bite of sausage off his fork with his teeth. Her gaze then wandered to the stoic headmaster. She scowled. "Our headmaster believes that Defense Against the Dark Arts, is such an important class that all students have been required to take it."

"Then why is it just the Dark Arts?" Neville asked, having found the class on his paper.

McGonagall's jaw clenched. "Our headmaster," she repeated, "brought in a new teacher who didn't quite…agree with the curriculum. With some changes approved by the new Ministry we have replaced Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Dark Arts. Professor Carrow is perfectly…equipped to lead the class and his new teaching style has been…anticipated by the rest of the teachers."

"So we're going to learn how to use the dark arts instead of avoid them?" Neville asked, shocked. Learning dark magic was never part of the curriculum for many reasons.

McGonagall gave a terse nod. "Both Dark Arts and Muggle Studies have turned into required classes that every student must take." In a lower voice she then said, "I expect you all to stay out of trouble instead of looking for it. I want you to be good role models for the younger children."

Snape was watching them from his seat at the head table through narrowed eyes. He began to stand, still looking at the clump of older Gryffindors and their head of house. McGonagall quickly moved away from them and continued to pass out schedules with her eyes adverts from Snape. Neville watched as the satisfied headmaster sat down.

"We aren't even going to learn how to defend ourselves in a class meant specifically for defense." Ginny whispered furiously to Neville. "If we start up the DA again then we can-"

Neville pointed his fork at her. "Ginny, I've already told you no. It's too dangerous."

Ginny gave a small snort. She excused herself and slid off the bench to go talk to Luna at the Ravenclaw table.

Parvati looked at Neville with sad eyes. "We'll have to keep an eye on her, Neville. You know Ginny, she's going to go looking for trouble."

Neville sighed and let his head drop into his hands. "I know."

"Hello students," Professor Sprout said with a weary smile. "My, we have a small class."

Neville looked around the small greenhouse, surprised to see only Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, and Susan Bones present. His heart was heavy; he had a mental list of the muggleborn students not present that would've been in that Advanced Herbology class. He tried to stop thinking about it, instead focusing on the excitement of the first day of school. He had decided that he was going to be optimistic, despite the dismal situation of his school.

Professor Sprout instructed them to take out their gloves. In the midst of that, a red faced Hannah Abbott entered. Everyone looked up and her face became redder. She addressed Sprout. "I'm so sorry I'm late, professor."

Professor Sprout waved her hand. "It's fine, Miss Abbott. Just don't be late again."

Hannah nodded. "I'm sorry. I was held back in class. Professor Carrow wouldn't let me leave."

Sprout looked up sharply. "Which Carrow was it?"

"The brother," Hannah hung her head shamefully, twisting her fingers. All four students, Neville included, continued preparing their workspaces while listening in.

Sprout took Hannah's arm and turned her away from the other students. "What did he do?" The angry professor hissed. "Did he do anything? I swear, if he touched-"

Hannah's eyes went wide. "Oh no, professor! He didn't do anything."

Professor Sprout relaxed a bit. "Good. Stay safe, Hannah." Then in a louder voice, "please take the seat between Miss Bones and Mister Longbottom." Hannah gave a small nod and hurriedly plopped in between Susan and Neville. Terry and Anthony looked at each other and broke into hurried whispers after the exchange between Professor Sprout and the blonde Hufflepuff.

"What did Carrow want, Hannah?" Susan Bones whispered furiously to Hannah. "Were you telling the truth to Professor Sprout? Did he do anything to you? My Auntie told me about him years ago. He has a terrible reputation, you should hear the things he has done to women-"

"Nothing happened, Susan," Hannah replied, clearly flustered. "He questioned me further about my blood status." Hannah tried busying herself with her flower pot, a look of disgust on her face. "He was pleased. Gave me compliments for it. Praise, even. It was disgusting _._ He advised me to stay away from half bloods"

"We need to be careful this year," Susan muttered under her breath.

Hannah turned and, as if just noticing him, smiled at Neville. "Hello Neville. Have a good summer?"

"Hm? Oh me? Yes? I mean, yeah, I did." Neville spluttered. He tried acting as if he hadn't been listening in on her conversations for the past five minutes but it was obvious. "You?"

As Hannah started talking, Neville took the chance to study her. Her pigtails were gone, instead her blonde hair tumbled over her shoulders, held back with a black headband. She looked more mature. Not just physically, but also in the way she held herself. She gave off an air of confidence that Neville had never seen on her. As if she had suddenly becme an adult over the summer. He suddenly felt guilty that he was making assumptions about her. Hannah was one of the only girls that would talk to him because she wanted to, not just to be polite. They had been Herbology partners for years, both holding a special knack for the subject.

"Neville?"

Neville snapped out of his thoughts to see both Susan and Hannah looking at him expectantly. "Huh?"

"Boys," Susan muttered, rolling her eyes.

Hannah ignored her. "We were just wondering when the next DA meeting is."

"Oh, uh," Neville was stuck. "We, um, we don't know yet."

Hannah and Susan looked disappointed. "Okay, well let us know."

"Class! Be sure to handle those Alihotsy leaves gently. I don't want a bunch of bumbling students spouting nonsense." Professor Sprout shouted suddenly and the students quickly went back to work.

* * *

By the time Neville had made it through a rather depressing hour of Divination, where Professor Trelawney was reduced to tears twice, his spirits had deflated exponentially. He exited the class, rather relieved, and caught up to Lavender and Parvati who were walking up ahead of him. The girls hooked their arms through his and the trio trudged rather nervously to their next class. All around, students moved in clusters, scared of being alone. Their heads were bowed and the hall was near silent. Neville couldn't remember the last time he had heard the halls so quiet.

"There's bad energy everywhere," Lavender whispered sadly, studying all the solemn faces. "And to think this is all because of that war. These are children! They shouldn't have to be worrying about that."

"They're growing up too quickly." Parvati said stiffly.

They found Seamus and their huddle went from three to four as they made their way to the class they had been dreading.

The Gryffindors entered the classroom cautiously, crossing their fingers that they wouldn't be with the Slytherins. To their relief, they saw a small knot of Ravenclaws looking equally nervous until they saw the Gryffindors. Terry Boot and Michael Corner broke away from them, beckoning the other seventh years over. As Neville and the other Gryffindors crossed the room, he could feel Carrow's eyes following them. He shuddered.

"Carrow's mad, absolutely mad." Anthony Goldstein noted as soon as the circle was complete. "Did you hear what happened with the fourth years? They're all scared to death."

Neville looked around the circle. Parvati had her arms linked with Lavender and Padma, all three of them looking anxious. Seamus was settled next to them with his arms crossed, looking incomplete without Dean by his side. Terry and Michael stood close together with Anthony, who kept glancing at the door to see if anyone else would be joining them. Two other Ravenclaw girls, Neville was nearly sure their names were Su Li and Morag MacDougal, were huddled together, looking as if they were ready to burst into tears at any moment. There were ten of them. Ten seventh year Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students. Neville felt his heart drop.

"This all of the Ravenclaws?" Seamus asked, having similar thoughts to Neville.

Anthony frowned. "Yeah. Mandy's parents wouldn't let her come back this year."

Michael snorted. "Neither would Stephen's. And he's a pureblood, that lucky bastard."

"Kevin is on the run." Anthony continued, then hesitated. "And we don't know where Lisa is." At that, the Ravenclaws looked down sadly. Morag choked back a sob. "But there's more fifth and sixth years here than us."

"Dean's on the run," Seamus supplied. "So is Hermione, I suppose. Harry's off doing something to save us all and Ron is sick."

"Spattergroit," Neville said quietly.

A small cough came from the front of the room. The group jumped and turned to see Amycus Carrow standing fifteen feet away from them, tapping his foot. His scowl made his ugly face look even uglier. "What's all of this? Class has started. If you aren't in your seats in ten seconds," his face broke out into a malicious smile, "detention for all of you." In a mad rush, the small crowd quickly threw themselves into the empty desks. Neville found himself next to Anthony Goldstein with Michael and Seamus sitting behind them. Padma and Lavender sat one seat in front and Terry and Parvati were located across the aisle from them with Morag and Su behind them . All of them were breathing heavily.

"Pity," Carrow's lip curled. "It seems that you're better behaved than the fourth years."

Neville heard Seamus give a small snort and willed his friend to stay quiet.

Apparently Amycus had heard. He spun back around gleefully. "Oh? Am I wrong?"

"No sir," Seamus said quickly after Neville kicked his chair and Michael had nudged him.

"We'll see," Carrow responded lowly. "I'm Professor Carrow." He spread his arms out wide, gesturing to the room. "And welcome to the Dark Arts."

Neville took a chance to study the room completely. It was dark, thick curtains blanketing all of the windows. Shelves were covered in dangerous-looking trinkets, similar to those in Borgin and Burkes. There were jars and containers of bugs and animals floating in water, some alive and some long dead. The few books that were in the room had dark covers and violent titles. Neville felt his heart clench when his eyes landed on a cup of quills, not so different from the ones Umbridge had her students use, sitting on the professor's desk.

"The Ministry has given me free reign of this class so you should anticipate an interactive and rigorous curriculum. You will quickly learn that Dark Magic is the most useful and power type of magic. I expect nothing but perfection and cooperation, I hope you all will understand that." Carrow began walking towards the nervous group of students. He stopped in front of Padma and Lavender and looked them up and down greedily. Neville tensed, remembering the tone in Hannah's voice when she had talked about Carrow. "Introductions, now. Name?" He barked at the girls. Lavender flinched.

"Lavender Brown." She stuttered.

"Blood status?"

"Pure blood."

Carrow nodded approvingly and his eyes seemed to linger further on her. Neville could hear Seamus growl as Carrow moved on to Padma.

"Name and blood status?"

"Padma Patil, pure blood."

The room was thick with tension as each person stated their name and status. The professor gave a small snort of disgust when Michael had said that he was half blood and Neville was nearly certain that he had laughed when he said his name.

Once Carrow had finished with Michael, he turned to Seamus.

"Name and blood status?"

"Why are you doing this?" Seamus asked rigidly.

"Name and blood status?"

"This isn't the Ministry. This isn't Muggle Studies, is it?"

"Name. Blood status."

"Oh wait, that's taught by your bitch of a sister."

Carrow jerked his wand so suddenly that half of the room jumped. Seamus flinched as the side of his cheek tore open in a long cut. The professor moved closer to Seamus, wand up and pointed at him.

"What is your name?" He breathed.

"Seamus Finnigan."

"And what is your blood status?"

"Half blood."

Professor Carrow's lip curled in disgust. He leaned forward and watched as a drop of blood fell from the cut and onto the desk. He looked Seamus straight in the eyes. "Filth. Your blood is tainted with filth."

Seamus glowered at him, then spat at his feet. "Piss off."

Carrow tilted his head. "Detention, Mister Finnegan. Tonight at seven, my office."

"You can't do that," Terry Boot protested. "It's the first day of school and he didn't do-"

"And who are you?" Carrow spun around, wand now pointed at Terry.

Terry recoiled, slowly lifting his hands up. "Terry Boot, half blood."

"Another one, I see. Can you tell me, Mister Boot, why you Ravenclaws are all spawns of Muggles?" Carrow asked in mock curiosity.

The Ravenclaw raised his chin. "We tend to be more open minded and accepting towards people. Something I'm sure that you wouldn't understand."

"I've always hated Ravenclaws," Carrow contemplated. "Detention, Mister Boot, for speaking out of turn. You'll be joining Mister Finnegan in my office tonight."

Terry clenched his jaw but said nothing. Carrow made his way back to the front of the room and spun around. A taut and insincere smile was spread on his face. "Now, who can name five curses that result in death?"

Neville could see the discomfort coming from his friends as Carrow began to talk. The way that Parvati twisted the rings on her fingers, how Lavender was hunched in her seat, Seamus shifting in his chair, Michael and Terry occasionally sending nervous glances towards each other.

When class had finally ended, the seventh years quickly gathered their things and exited the classroom as soon as possible. Morag and Su excused themselves, hurrying off.

"I'll see you tonight, Boot and Finnegan," Amycus called from inside the room.

Seamus gritted his teeth. "That man is pure evil," he spat. "He's just as bad as everyone's been saying. Sorry to drag you into this, mate." He addressed Terry as Parvati fixed up his cheek with a wave of her wand.

The Ravenclaw shrugged. "You didn't deserve that detention."

"Those Carrows are bad news." Padma sighed. She looked at her sister. "Our father went to school with them and he warned us to be careful around them. We almost weren't allowed back when he heard that they would be teachers."

"You," Neville pointed at Seamus, "will need to learn how to keep your mouth shut."

"I know." Seamus frowned. "But the way he talks about blood status makes me sick."

Michael tugged at the strap on his book bag. "Yeah, well Terry and I have his sister in five minutes."

"Stay safe," Parvati supplied. The rest nodded.

"You too." Terry said with a grim smile. As everybody parted ways, Michael caught Neville's arm. "Let us know when DA is starting up again." Neville nodded dumbly, unsure of how to reply. Parvati tugged him in the other direction, guiding him down the hall with the other Gryffindors. Neville ran into Ginny as he was heading into the Great Hall. Literally. Ginny was flying down the hallway, looking over her shoulder. When she finally was facing forward, she ran right into Neville.

"Jesus Ginny," Neville clutched his chest. "You scared me half to death. What's the rush?" He motioned for Parvati, Seamus and Lavender to head into lunch, which they did.

Ginny pushed her ginger hair out of her eyes, letting out a long breath. "Running away from some Slytherins"

Neville crossed his arms. "What did you do?"

"Crabbe and Goyle were bullying some first years."

"And what did you do?"

"I gave Goyle a bunch of boils in a rather unfortunate place, if you know what I mean. They'll be pretty painful when they pop."

"Ginny," Neville sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I told both you and Luna to stay out of trouble. These people are dangerous and getting on their bad side the first week of school is the last thing we want to do."

Ginny frowned. "I know you're concerned, Nev, but I couldn't just pass by." She got a glint in her eyes. "I hope you'll reconsider your decision. I _really_ want to start up DA again."

"Ginny, it's too dangerous."

"Please Neville." Ginny clasped her hands. "Luna and I are on board, but we can't do it without you. Haven't you had people asking you when the next meeting is?"

Neville thought of Michael and Hannah. "Yeah, I have." He sighed. "Give me a while to think about it. I'm not saying yes quite yet."

Ginny smiled and hugged him. "I'm glad you've reconsidered. She looked at his watch. "Damn, I'm going to be late to Defense."

"It's not actually called Defense anymore. Just the Dark Arts." Neville's eyes then widened. "Go, don't be late!" He gently pushed her in the right direction. "You'll get in trouble if you're late. Seamus and Terry already have detention tonight, I don't want anyone else being potentially hurt."

"Boot has detention?" Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"He was defending Seamus."

"We should keep him in mind for a potential leadership position in the DA," Ginny mused. "We need people like him."

Neville pushed Ginny further down the hall. "Stop thinking about that and go to class! Hurry!" He shouted as she took off running. "And I haven't said yes yet." He added as an afterthought.

* * *

At dinner, Neville was relieved to see Ginny all in one piece, sawing at the roast beef with her knife. From the way Parvati and Lavender were eyeing her, they felt the same way.

Ginny set down her fork with a cocked eyebrow. "Are you all my mother now?" The three of them quickly muttered 'no's' and busied themselves with dinner. "Good. Because I'm not a child."

Lavender leaned against Seamus's shoulder. "You okay, Seamus? You've been awfully quiet."

Seamus gripped his napkin and nodded. "Yeah. Rather not have me arse beaten by that bastard on the first day. I've been better."

"Your fault for opening your mouth." Ginny said with a shrug as she shoveled potatoes into her mouth. Lavender shot her a glare and rubbed Seamus's arm.

"Nah, she's right. It's my fault that Terry's in the doghouse, too. Surprised _you_ managed to keep quiet, Weasley."

Ginny shrugged with a small smile. "It was unbearable, trust me. That man belongs in a jail cell. Luna helped me keep my cool."

Neville shot a grateful look towards the Ravenclaw table. Luna gave him a peaceful smile when he caught her eye.

Snape rose from his chair, indicating that dinner was over. Everybody in the Great Hall rose and were led out by the prefects. Seamus muttered a solemn goodbye before catching up with Terry. Parvati, Lavender, Neville and Ginny left with the rest of the Gryffindors and went to the Common Room. They found an empty couch and cluster of chairs and claimed that spot to sit and do homework. The minutes crept by freakishly slow and soon the homework was forgotten as they all sat anxiously waiting for their friend's return. Soon it had gotten so late that they were the only ones left in the Common Room.

"What if something bad happened to them?" Lavender had gotten up sometime and was pacing back and forth, weaving around chairs and tables. She stopped in front of Neville and grabbed his arm, looking at the watch on his wrist, then dropped it and continued her path.

"Lavender, sit down," Parvati sighed and pulled Lavender down onto the couch as she passed by.

"Carrow can't be too hard on them, can he?" Lavender asked hopefully as she sat down. "It's only the first day of school."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Neville said as he and Ginny waved away some second years peeking around the staircase.

"I just hope he doesn't say anything stupid enough to get him into further trouble." Ginny frowned.

The group sat in worried silence. Neville rested his elbows on his knees, thinking about how if Dean were there, Seamus wouldn't be in trouble. He missed Dean's calming nature. It had been nearly half an hour before the portrait hole finally swung open. Immediately, everyone had jumped to their feet and crowded the entrance. They were surprised to see two figures instead of one.

Terry Boot was leaning heavily on Seamus, arm around the Gryffindor's neck who was supporting him by his waist. Seamus's tie was hastily draped over his neck. The Ravenclaw grimaced as the pair stepped into the Common Room.

"Oh my gosh!" Parvati and Ginny pulled Terry off of Seamus and guided him over to the couch.

"So this is what the Gryffindor common room looks like," Terry looked around in wonder as he was sat onto the crimson sofa. "Mike and Tony will be so jealous to know I got to come here."

Lavender was immediately at Seamus's side, inspecting his bruises and cuts. "Are you okay?"

"Carrow's crazy," Seamus panted once he dropped into a chair. "He had those blood quills like Umbridge did. Had us write lines for thirty minutes." He held up his hand, lines of blood dried on the skin.

"This happened when I refused to curse Seamus," Terry indicated his swollen ankle that Parvati was in the process of inspecting and healing. "Carrow wasted no time in Imperiusing me out of my chair and into a wall."

"The Hospital Wing was too far away for me to take Terry to. Plus all the Slytherin prefects were on patrol tonight. They were eager to start a fight. Couldn't even get close to the Ravenclaw Tower. So I brought him here."

"This is ludicrous," Ginny whispered furiously as she studied the two boys and their injuries. The word ' _filth'_ was bleeding on both of their hands and Ginny knew that there would be bruises on Seamus's face and Terry's leg the next morning.

"Thanks, mate," Terry handed the crimson and gold tie back to Seamus. He looked at the rest of the Gryffindors. "Is it alright if I stay here tonight? Like Seamus said, I can't exactly get back to my dormitory."

Neville smiled. "Of course." The rest nodded, still in awe of their brave friends.

As Seamus began helping Terry up, Parvati jumped up and put one of his arms around her neck. "I'm coming with, I'm not done healing him yet." She said stubbornly.

Terry smiled down at her. "Thanks." The three made their way up the stairs, Lavender trailing behind them.

"Oi! Why isn't the staircase turning into a slide right now!" Neville heard Seamus exclaim angrily. He rolled his eyes.

"We have to start the DA up again," Ginny burst out once the others had made it to the seventh year boys dormitory.

"Ginny-"

"Did you see what that pig did to our friends?"

"I know and-"

"We can't just sit here doing nothing! Resistance is better than accepting what is-"

"Ginny!" She stopped talking. He looked hesitant, then nodded. "Okay."

Ginny looked at him, dumbfounded. "What?"

"I said okay. Let's do it."

Ginny squealed and surprised Neville with the strong hug she gave him. She pulled at his elbow. "Come on! We need to go tell the others right away!" She dragged him up the stairs and into the room.

Their friends were ecstatic to hear the news.

"We're just what this school needs," Seamus said as he rubbed his hands together.

"Terry, it'd be great if you could replicate Hermione's Protean charm on the galleons, now that the leading coin is gone. We'll need to get the word out."

"Absolutely," Terry beamed. "Anthony and Padma can help me."

"We'll spread the news tomorrow," Neville said and the rest nodded, eyes shining.

"I think it's time for us to go to bed," Parvati stood. Lavender got up as well and the two of them pulled up a slightly less willing Ginny. "We'll see you boys in the morning."


	4. Chapter 4

McGonagall merely raised an eyebrow the next morning in the Common Room at Terry, who was wearing one of Neville's spare red ties. She then turned to Neville for an explanation, who only shrugged helplessly. Her eyes narrowed but she didn't question it, instead indicating that Terry should stand in between Ritchie Coote and Jack Sloper as to go unnoticed. Neville sighed in relief and sent her a thankful glance. They marched down to breakfast.

"TERRENCE MALCOLM BOOT!" A voice roared from across the room as soon as they had entered the Great Hall. The Gryffindors jumped but Terry, as if expecting it, smiled and turned around. A furious Michael Corner was striding towards them with Anthony, Padma and Luna following in his wake.

"Yes, mum?" Terry continued smiling as Michael stomped over until he was standing four feet away. The younger Gryffindors had quickly dispersed, sitting down at the breakfast table.

"Where were you last night?" Michael had crossed his arms and, indeed, looked like an angry mother. His eyes widened as he looked at his friend's bandaged ankle. "What happened?"

"Carrow's detention. I couldn't get back to the Ravenclaw Tower or down to the Hospital Wing without some Slytherins beating me up so the Gryffindors let me stay with them."

The two continued staring at each other until Michael lunged at Terry and swallowed him in a hug. Terry staggered back, surprised, then returned the hug.

"I thought you were dead," Michael whispered. "I'm glad you're not dead."

"Me too," Terry said, looking at Anthony and jerking his head. Anthony grinned and joined them in a three-way hug.

"All right, you lot," Padma laughed as the three best friends parted. "You're causing a scene at breakfast." To Terry, she gave him a side hug and punched his arm. "Glad to see you alive, Boot."

"Alive and kicking," Terry responded dryly. "Thanks to your sister."

Parvati blushed. "It was no trouble at all."

"I told them!" Luna walked up to Terry. "I told them that either you were safe or that you had been captured by an Exploding Snabberwitch. But Snabberwitches are only ever spotted in Southern continents, so I knew you were safe!"

"Thanks Luna," Terry looked bemused but accepted her hug. He then turned back to the Gryffindors. "I'm truly in your debt. Us Ravenclaws are willing to stand by your sides in whatever you do." His housemates nodded.

"Will you be a lieutenant?" Ginny burst out. She had been lingering behind the older Gryffindors before she spoke. They all turned to her, surprised.

"What?"

"Lieutenant for what?" Michael asked, then his eyes got wide. Ginny nodded triumphantly, glad he understood.

"Is the DA starting back up again?" Anthony whispered excitedly. Neville gave a subtle nod.

Luna clapped her hands, eyes gleaming. "You reconsidered, then?" She asked Neville who nodded again. "How wonderful!"

The happy exchange stopped abruptly when the Ravenclaws suddenly froze. "What's going on here?" The Gryffindors turned and were suddenly face to face with Alecto Carrow. She bared her teeth in a similar fashion to her brother. "To your tables. Now!" When nobody chose to move, she scowled. "Move or I'll make you move." She began to roll up her sleeves and draw her long wand. That was all it took. Immediately the group split and scurried towards their designated tables.

"It's ridiculous," Seamus growled as he plopped down at the Gryffindor table. "I've never been more scared of two teachers in all my life."

"They need to be taught a lesson." Lavender huffed from her spot across from Seamus.

Ginny's eyes danced. "What a wonderful idea, Lavender."

Neville, Parvati and Lavender all shot Ginny worried looks. "Don't you dare…" Neville began but was interrupted by Seamus.

"I was thinking the exact same thing, Weasley."

Parvati kicked him under the table. "Hush! We aren't supposed to be encouraging anything dangerous, remember?"

Ginny and Seamus shrugged. "It was Lavender's idea."

Lavender's eyes went wide. "No, it very well was NOT Lavender's idea-"

"So how're we going to get the word out?" Ginny leaned across the table and rested her chin in her laced fingers.

Neville shrugged. "All of the original members minus the Hufflepuffs know that the DA is back. All we need to do is get the word to them and choose a day. Once the Ravenclaws figure out the Protean Charm, we'll be good to go."

"So we talk to the Hufflepuffs then get the Terry and Padma to put the charm on your galleon. Mine too, maybe. Then we send the date out for the meeting." Ginny said slowly.

"Sounds like a plan!" Seamus rubbed his hands together gleefully.

"This'll be great," Parvati smiled.

Neville nodded. "I was also thinking that it'd be great if they altered the Protean charm so the messages don't come only from one coin."

"So we all can send messages," Lavender marveled. "That's a great idea."

"Can you talk to your sister and see if that's something possible?" Neville asked, turning to Parvati.

"Absolutely." She beamed. "I have no doubt in Padma's ability, she'll be able to do it."

"If we get this charm to work on all of the coins, do ye think that' Dean'll be able to contact us?" Seamus said with hopeful eyes.

Ginny gasped, tears nearly coming to her eyes. She saw Parvati reacting the same.

"I'm not sure about that, but we can sure as hell try," Neville answered, a smile stretching across his face.

Parvati took his hand in hers. "Thank you, Neville, for agreeing to this. Truly, thank you."

* * *

Through whispers in the halls and note passing in class, they had given the seventh year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws the date and time of the DA meeting. Neville looked out at the small, yet eager, group of original Dumbledore's Army members. Counting him, Luna and Ginny, there were thirteen of them present. He let out a little cough and immediately, every single pair of eyes snapped to his attention.

"Hi everybody. It's good to have all these familiar faces here in one room. A nice change from those evil professors we see every day." There was a smattering of chuckles. "But that's the thing, those Carrows really are evil."

"Hear, hear," Seamus called out.

"Harry, Ron and Hermione, as you all probably know, aren't here. I know it feels wrong without them, but it's important, now more than ever, that we continue it. It's not safe here, and I think that nearly every student here knows that. I want us to give them hope, I want us to protect them and make them feel safe."

"Those Carrows are going to pay!" Ginny pounded her fist in her palm. She was met with some cheers.

"What Ginny means to say," Neville shot a glare at her, "is that the Carrows are bad news. And let's just say that karma's a bitch."

"What goes around comes around." Luna added.

"So what's the plan? Ernie asked, a hint of skepticism in his voice. "Are you saying that we should just launch ourselves at the Carrows, ready to fight?"

"Absolutely not." Neville quickly said, shaking his head at Seamus who looked like he was going to answer the question. "I don't want to see heroics, I want us to get our job done."

"And what's that?"

"Recruitment." That was all it took. Immediately, the voices and side conversations were shut off and everyone had turned to look at him.

"Pardon?" Ernie asked expectantly when Neville didn't continue.

"We need more recruits. There's a war coming and we need all the willing people we can get."

"There are lots of students who want to join." Luna piped up. "I've heard many of the younger Ravenclaws discussing it."

"Shouldn't we be keeping the younger students out of trouble?" Parvati raised her hand.

"Absolutely. I don't want anyone younger than fourteen participating. Fourth years and up only." Neville said.

"The little ones ain't gonna like that." Seamus chuckled. "They're feisty."

"In regards to the younger ones, we're keeping them as far away from danger as we can."

"And as far away from the Carrows, too," Anthony added, wrinkling his nose.

"Speaking of the Carrows, I think they can already tell who their enemies are here," Neville said, shaking his head. "We've made ourselves too obvious."

"We already have a reputation." Seamus nodded, looking pleased. "Well, good. Glad to know that those bastards know we aren't gonna take any shit from 'em."

"They're going to come after us." Ginny said, her eyes dancing with an angry fire.

"I hope I'm right by saying that we have an advantage over them. We know the school better than they do. We have this room," he gestured to the wide room. "And we know of secret passages."

"But Snape said that he closed off the passages before the start of school." Padma objected. "What use would they be?"

"We could use them as hiding spots?" Seamus suggested.

"Exactly," Neville snapped his fingers. "We won't be able to get out of the school, but at least we can still use them to hide. Anyone have any good ones?"

"There's a passage behind a statue of a witch in an unused corridor near the Defense classroom. One eye. Used to lead to Honeydukes." Michael smiled wistfully. "Terry and I found it in fifth year, we celebrated Tony's birthday in Hogsmeade." His smile vanished, replaced by a hard frown. "Snape's probably shut it off already, doesn't want any students escaping."

"The witch's hump opens when you say _Dissendium._ It's a tight squeeze, but you could probably stay there awhile." Anthony added helpfully.

"On the fourth floor there's a secret room behind a mirror. It also had a passageway leading out of the school." Hannah sounded melancholy as she spoke. "I found it in first year, when I was looking for a place to be alone. It caved in during third year, I'm not sure what happened to it. Some kind of warped magic. It can still fit a couple people, though."

"There's the Vanishing Cabinet," Susan supplied, then made a face. "But it got destroyed, I'm sure, after Malfoy fixed it. Good riddance. It caused us more trouble than good." Ginny made a small noise, thinking of Bill's injuries.

"There's a loose piece of flooring on the third floor. If you slide it open, a ladder leads down to the dungeons." Luna said, softly humming. "I used it to borrow ingredients from the Potions room. But I'm sure that the headmaster knew about it and closed it."

"On the fifth floor there's a statue of a medieval wizard, Gregory the Smarmy. Mike, Tony and I stumbled across it in fourth year when we were running away from Malfoy's cronies. It's a tunnel that leads out of the school. Goes on forever, we never found an end to it." Terry supplied.

Neville smirked. "Sounds like the three of you were quite the troublemakers." He nodded at the Ravenclaw boys.

Michael shrugged, looking pleased. "Not gonna argue with you on that. Sadly, the Weasley twins got all the credit."

Ginny shrugged. "They made a legacy for themselves."

"Listen, we're smarter than the Carrows. Sure, they were once students here, but we know the school better than them. This is our school that they're taking over. We can't make it so easy for them." Seamus stood up, arms spread wide.

"We're stronger when we stand together. The reality is: the Carrows are here, and they're here to stay." The corners of Ginny's mouth turned upwards. "We might as well make their time here a living hell."

"Next week we'll meet again. Same time, same place. Our goal is to spread the word. That Dumbledore's Army is still alive. We want recruits, and we want them now." Neville said.

"But how are we going to spread the news?" Ernie frowned.

Anthony snapped his fingers. "Propaganda. That's how they gained recruits and support for World War II."

Padma punched his arm. "You git," she hissed. "Propaganda for a war?"

"He's not half wrong." Ginny muttered.

"So what kind of propaganda are we talking about?" Ernie asked, his eyebrows raising further and further up his forehead.

Neville gave a half smile. "Ever heard of graffiti?"

* * *

 **Once again, I'd be surprised (but happy!) if people still read fanfiction like this but reviews/favorites/follows are always appreciated!**

 **Until next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Stick All Day Spray," Ginny rummaged in the bag and tossed a couple of cans to Neville and Seamus. "Spray it on whatever we want to be permanent and it'll stay."

"Nice," Seamus turned the cans over in his hands before passing them to Ernie and Parvati only to have more bottles shoved into his arms by Ginny.

"I'm assuming that these are a product from your brothers?" Terry raised an eyebrow as he read the label on the can.

"You betcha," Ginny said brightly as she began to pass spray paint out.

"They're brilliant." The Ravenclaw marveled. "Destructive, but brilliant. Never want to get on their bad side." He shuddered.

Ginny sighed and turned around, hands on her hips. "I know that tone of voice, I've heard it all too many times when I'm left to clean up their mess and counsel their victims. What did they do to you?"

Terry laughed. "In fifth year they decided to have Mike and I test the Portable Swamp. Snuck one into my bag and we accidentally opened it in our dormitory. We were stuck in their for hours just trying to locate the door. Tony finally found us and made the twins clean it up."

Ginny winced. "Er, I'll have them make it up to you sometime?"

"I heard 'trapped in our dormitory for hours', you must be talking about the swamp situation," Anthony called from where he stood twenty feet away with Padma, grinning impishly.

"Oi! I thought we promised to never talk about that again!" Michael yelled from another location in the room.

Neville shook his head with an affectionate grin. "Alright, everybody over here now!"

The small crowd of people regrouped into a semicircle around Neville, Luna, and Ginny. It had been a tough couple of weeks back at school for all of them. They were the targets of the Carrows on many occasions and their anger only fueled their determination.

"This group of people standing in front of me I have slowly gotten to know these past few years. I don't know your secrets, and you don't know mine. But I would trust any of you with my life, hands down. We're strong," Neville hesitated, "but we're also small. Our job is simple tonight, get the message out. Let the Carrows know who they're dealing with and let the other students know that we want them to join us."

Seamus raised his hand but Neville stopped him. "And _no_ inappropriate language, Finnegan." Seamus put his hand down.

"Does everybody have a partner? And does each pair have a can?" Ginny stood on her tiptoes, scanning the pairs and nodding her head. Everyone nodded their heads yes. "Don't forget these!" She held up the Soundless Shoes, courtesy of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. People double checked their feet.

"Don't let any Slytherins catch you. Their patrol ends in fifteen minutes, so stay away from the dungeons. Be as quiet as you can, the shoes will help. Once you're done, meet up with your housemates at the place you've discussed. Questions?"

They shook their heads, eyes bright.

"Let's go, then," Ginny grinned.

Neville, Ernie, Michael and Susan left first. They crept down the dark halls quietly. The silence hung heavy in the air like a veil. Neville looked at his friends. They were all dressed in black, no navy or gold ties poked out of their cloaks. He gripped his paint can tighter.

Susan suddenly threw her arms out and halted. The boys crashed into her.

"What was that for?" Michael whispered angrily, rubbing his torso.

"Shut up!" Susan hissed and grabbed the three of them by their cloaks. She dragged them around a corner and behind a statue. When they had stopped moving, she held a finger to her lips. There were footsteps moving closer to them. From his place crouched on the ground, Neville held his breath. The sound drew closer and closer until they could hear whispering voices. Susan slapped her hands over Michael and Ernie's mouths as a pair of Slytherin robes fluttered past them. Neville craned his neck to see the backs of Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini walking farther and farther away until they disappeared down another hallway.

Susan let her arms drop and the four of them let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. Ernie shooed them out from the behind the statue and they continued their journey.

"Thanks Susan," Neville said.

Susan brushed her bangs away from her forehead. "Of course. We can't get caught on our first outing." She said tersely, but her amber eyes twinkled mischievously.

Michael stopped. "What do you think?" He addressed Neville, gesturing in front of him.

Neville studied the empty stone wall that was graying with age. He smiled. "It's perfect."

Susan and Ernie nodded at them and continued down the hall. In comfortable silence they uncapped their paint and started working. Michael was shy at first with his work. "Terry's the artist, not me." He had admitted quietly. But soon his eyes began to shine and a smile graced his face. Soon he was running down the hallway, arm outstretched with the can on paint. Neville followed him, laughing silently.

The pair passed by Lavender and Seamus who had just exited a classroom, shoulders shaking with silent giggles. Paint covered Seamus's hands and Lavender's cheeks. They smiled brightly at Neville before joining hands and sprinting off. Padma and Hannah shot past them with their arms linked. Hannah poured the colors out of the cans and Padma charmed them into swirls onto the walls.

Down another hall Neville could see Terry sitting on Anthony's shoulders, eyebrows drawn in concentration as he carefully decorated the helmet of a stone knight with a small paintbrush. Anthony was clumsily spraying the chest plate of the same knight, nothing close to Terry's precision, but he was grinning. Parvati was cross-legged beside him, back arched as she studied their work and passed them paint.

The time passed by in a blur of fluorescent colors. Neville couldn't remember the last time he had felt so free and alive. He closed his eyes and let his hands do the work.

And just like that, the adrenaline was gone. They stood, 13 in number in the Great Hall, admiring their handiwork splashed on the walls.

"It's beautiful," Lavender whispered, her blue eyes wide.

"Not bad," Ernie nodded curtly, but he was smiling.

"It's just what we need." Neville bobbed his head, pleased with their work.

The Great Hall was no longer an empty stone foyer. The walls were splashed in Weasley-twins-worthy bright colors. Lightning bolts decorated the vacant benches and steps. Phrases were written on the wall, telling the world that Dumbledore's Army was alive. Ernie had charmed Luna with a levitation spell up to the ceiling and she had sprayed a raging fire that moved and flickered in the light of their wands. The rest of the school's corridors were just as vibrant. Neville studied the Great Hall and couldn't help but imagine Dean with them, painting beautiful lions and twinkling stars, his artist eyes wide in wonder. From the corner of his eye, he caught Seamus staring off into the distance and could tell that he was thinking the same thing.

Ginny patted Seamus's shoulder, understanding as well. As if broken from a trance, Seamus shook his head and stepped forward. Parvati offered her purple can of paint and he took it. Looking up at the blank space on the wall, Seamus began to spray the paint with big motions until he stepped back next to Neville.

' _Dumbledore's Army: Still Recruiting'_ decked the blank surface. Susan waved her wand and the writing was suddenly mirrored multiple times throughout the hall.

The thirteen of them left the Great Hall and moved through the school, their message splayed across wall after wall, hall after hall from Susan's wand.

From where she was walking in front, Ginny turned around."Terry, Michael? The two of you ready?"

The pair of Ravenclaws held up their brooms and nodded. Mounting and kicking off, the two were zooming off down the hall, spraying the Stick All Day Spray through the air. Not to get stuck to the floors, Padma whispered " _Parapluvia,"_ and the rest of the group was instantly shielded by an invisible umbrella-like covering. Ginny collected all the paint cans and stuffed them into a small cross body with an extension charm on it.

"Thank you," Ginny whispered into Neville's ear. "Truly. This is exactly what we all needed."

Neville looked around at the rest of their smiling friends and couldn't agree more. Their happy faces were a drastic but satisfying change from the previous days. His stern face softened and he allowed a small smile to fill his lips.

Up ahead, Susan tensed. She listened, holding her hands out and indicating everyone to stop. "Do you hear that?" She whispered.

Michael and Terry touched down beside the rest of them and dismounted. Everyone was silent, listening for voices or footsteps.

Neville could tell that Parvati and Hannah heard it too, because they had both stiffened. The sound of a cat meowing.

"Filch's cat." Ginny hissed.

The cat's howls was growing louder. The noise was soon accompanied by a shouting voice. Neville strained his ears and could finally make out what it was saying. "...students out of bed! Students in the corridor." Mrs Norris was meowing angrily in the distance.

His friends turned to him with pale faces, silently asking him what to do. He wasted no time. "Ravenclaws, your common room is on the West side of the school, right? Take your brooms and go! I know that three is a tight squeeze, but you'll have to make it work. Put the three lightest on one broom. Be as quiet as you can."

The Ravenclaws quickly rearranged. Anthony pulled Padma and Luna onto Terry's broom while Terry and Michael mounted Michael's Cleansweep.

"Anthony, did you bring what I asked?" Ginny whispered urgently.

From on the broom, Anthony nodded and tossed a bundle to her.

"Thanks, I'll return it soon. Now go! Avoid the dungeons at all costs. Stay safe."

The two brooms silently sped off down the hall.

Ginny tossed the bundle at Hannah and pushed her towards the staircase. "I'm sure that the three of you will all be able to fit under this. Get back to your house and be careful. Anthony had better get this back in one piece."

Confused, Hannah unwrapped the bundle. Her eyes widened in recognition and she beckoned Susan and Ernie towards her and threw the invisibility cloak over the three of them. Her head popped out.

"We'll see you tomorrow." She whispered before disappearing once again.

"What is the meaning of this, Mr. Filch?" The Gryffindors looked at each other with scared expressions when they heard Snape's cool voice join the conversation. There were also two grumbling voices added to the mix; Neville assumed it could only be the Carrows. The footsteps indicated that the group of people were walking up the set of steps. There were no cries or shouts of surprise, so the Hufflepuffs must've slipped past them. Parvati and Lavender were clutching Ginny's arms and Seamus was wildly looking around.

"We gotta get outta here," he whispered urgently. As if snapping out of her shock, Ginny tugged on Lavender and Parvati and lead them down the hall, gesturing for the boys to follow.

"Anyone know the quickest way back to the Common Room?" She hissed. "Snape'll literally kill us if he figures out who it was."

"What is all of this?" The male Carrow cried, his voice ringing down the hall. "Where'd this come from?"

"There are children out of bed," his sister cackled, her crude voice filling the darkness. "Where are you, chickies? Chickies mustn't play with paint."

"Keep going! We're almost there." Parvati whispered worriedly. Their feet silent, the group shuffled down the hall hurriedly. When they had finally made it down the correct hallway, a figure passed by the portrait hole and made their way towards them.

Professor McGonagall looked up from tying her dressing gown around her body and gaped at her students. "Wha-"

Her voice was cut off by the Gryffindors wildly shaking their hands to quiet her down. They were looking at her pleadingly, begging her silently not to say anything.

"I 'heard somethin' down here!" Alecto Carrow's cold voice rang through the empty hallways. McGonagall looked at her students once again, at their scared eyes. She nodded at them and gestured behind her. They hastily scurried past her and through the portrait hole after muttering the password.

"Who's down there?" Amycus Carrow growled, rounding the corner just as the Fat Lady's portrait swung shut. He lowered his wand in surprise when he saw who it was pointed at.

"It's me. I heard shouting, what's the meaning of this?" McGonagall asked tightly, crossing her arms.

"See for yourself," Carrow spat, throwing his pointer finger up and directing her down the hall.

"Minerva, what is the meaning of all this?" Snape asked McGonagall suspiciously. He studied her face, looking for any signs of guilt or knowing.

"How should I know, Severus?" She shot back in an equally cold voice before silently reminding herself to stay silent. "I was sleeping soundly until I was woken up by these two." She pointed a finger at the fuming Carrows.

The Headmaster's face flushed ever so slightly. He gritted his teeth but kept his mouth shut. He followed McGonagall and the Carrows down the staircase but kept looking back at the Gryffindor portrait hole suspiciously.

From her picture frame, the Fat Lady glared at Snape, as if daring him to take her students.

* * *

 **Hey guys, thank you so much for your kind reviews! The story is definitely going to pick up and get more interesting, hope you stick around for it. As always, feedback is much appreciated. Until next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

"Moment of truth," Ginny whispered as she passed Neville. Her friend, along with Parvati, was arranging the younger students in formation to head downstairs to breakfast.

"Cross your fingers everything goes well," he muttered back.

Ginny took her place beside Seamus and Lavender, both of whom shot her looks of excitement. She grinned at them.

Once the Gryffindors were arranged accordingly, Parvati led the house down to breakfast with Neville at the rear of the crowd.

There were gasps and fast whispers as they entered the brightly painted hall and made their way down the staircase. Ginny looked on proudly at the walls that the DA had ever-so-gallantly decorated the night before. She bit her lip to keep from smiling.

The oohs and aahs really began when they had entered the Great Hall. It was truly magnificent; the dim light from their wands the previous night hadn't done it justice.

Hannah winked at them from the Hufflepuff table and Michael gave them a thumbs up as they sat at the Gryffindor table, now painted a deep crimson.

Snape sat fuming in his chair in front of the staff table. He rose when the houses filed in and waited until everyone was seated before he began talking in a deathly low tone. "Last night a group of students broke numerous rules, betrayed the trust I gave you and damaged school property. We are in the process of finding the culprits and expect everyone to comply. Now, if the guilty students would turn themselves in immediately, we won't have to take any drastic measures." The Great Hall remained silent. Snape's face turned a deep maroon. "No? Nobody willing to take responsibility?" No one made a sound. Neville gulped. "Very well. In that case, you will all have to face the consequences. Curfew has now been moved to nine o'clock. Professor Carrow and Professor Carrow will be in charge of all detentions, prefects and teachers will refer troublesome students to them."

The Great Hall erupted in cries of anger. The Gryffindors turned to each other in horror. Neville, slack-jawed, looked at Ginny. She had the same shocked expression on her face. Up at the teacher table, the Carrows exchanged matching sadistic grins.

"Silence!" Roared Snape over the nervous voices. "You've condoned yourselves to this. If I hear so much as a word about this vandalism, you will find yourself in detention. Have I made myself clear?" He certainly had.

* * *

Though Snape's speech at breakfast had put a slight damper on the excitement, it certainly didn't stop people from talking. All anybody could talk about that morning was the graffiti, the messages, the DA. She couldn't contain her elated spirits and she practically skipped down the hall.

She felt a hand slide into hers as she entered the Divination loft. She looked at the person next to her and locked eyes with a pair of wide, dark blue eyes.

"Thank you, Ginny." Demelza Robins whispered. She squeezed her hand and guided her to a pair of poufs. "That was really brave of you to do that, it's really given people hope."

Ginny tried keeping a straight face. "What makes you think it was me?"

Demelza giggled. "Oh come on, Gin. Who else would've thought up something like this? It's got Weasley written all over it. Plus it just so happened that you were missing from your bed at midnight last night."

"You gonna tell on me, Little Miss Prefect?"

"Hmm. We'll see." Demelza tapped her chin.

"You wouldn't!"

"Never! My lips are locked." Demelza imitated locking her lips and the two girls giggled once again.

"You know I'd never want to put you in danger, Mel. You're one of my best friends," Ginny bit her lip. "But what do you say?"

It took Demelza a few seconds to register what Ginny was asking her. When it had clicked, she gaped, mouth ajar. "Me?" She asked, pointing to her chest. "You want me to join?"

"No, the ghost standing in the doorway. Of course you!" Ginny gave her a small shove. "We're still recruiting after all…" She twisted the rings on her fingers.

A smile spread across Demelza's face and she tackled Ginny with a hug. "I thought you'd never ask! Oh, thank you, Ginny."

"Er, you're welcome?" Ginny said through a mouthful of thick, dark hair. "Spread the word."

Professor Trelawney teetered past the pair, coming to a stop next to their table. Her hands slammed on either side of their crystal ball, elbows straight and locked. The Gryffindor girls reeled back, surprised at the professor's behavior. Trelawney looked at them with distant owl-like eyes.

"Getting into trouble already, my dears?" She asked as she studied their glass ball, pressing her nose against it. Her voice was slurred and Ginny could smell cherry liqueur on her breath.

"Are you alright, Professor?" Demelza asked sweetly, her voice showing concern.

"I doubt that anyone here is fine with a monster like that running the school, Miss Ruben. These are dark times." Trelawney frowned before focusing her attention back on the crystal ball.

"What are you seeing, Professor?" Ginny stifled a laugh as she studied Trelawney.

"Very bad things, Miss Wesleyyyy. Very bad things indeed. Your family is being watched and you are in the heart of danger. Be wary of the Easter holiday, my dear. As for you, Miss Rutgen, your new alliance will put you in a tight spot in the future. Stay safe-" Professor Trelawney's eyes went cross and she slumped over on their short table. Demelza lunged to catch the glass ball the professor had knocked over while Ginny sat frozen in her seat.

"What a load of blarmey." Demelza returned the crystal ball to its place and prodded the sleeping Trelawney with her finger. She squinted and pulled out a small flask from the professor's sleeve. "Well, that figures."

Ginny could only stay silent as she took in Trelawney's words with horror.

* * *

Neville tapped his foot nervously as he waited for Parvati, Lavender, and Seamus outside the Transfiguration classroom as usual, careful not to be seen in the doorway by the professor. When his friends had finally emerged, he grabbed their arms and pulled them away from the classroom.

"Mister Longbottom. A word, please?" A crisp voice stopped him in his tracks.

Neville sighed, knowing he was unable to dodge the situation and entered the room. "Sure, professor." Turning to his friends he said: "I'll meet you at lunch."

Professor McGonagall waited patiently until the last of the students had cleared out of the room. As soon as they were alone, she waved her wand and the door gently eased shut. She nodded at the chair next to her desk. Neville sat down numbly.

The professor sighed as she shuffled the papers on her desk. "That was quite a stunt you and your housemates pulled off last night. Dumbledore's Army is back, I see."

Neville shuffled his feet nervously, unable to meet her eyes. He gave a small nod.

"As you very well know, Headmaster Snape has put quite a threat on the individuals involved in this vandalism."

Neville nodded again, staring ahead at a spot on the wall where the dark green paint was chipping.

"And the Gryffindor students are the main suspects in this debacle." McGonagall watched him steadily. She sighed and took her wire-framed glasses off. "This current situation is hardly ideal for any of us at the moment. Rebellion is needed in times like these. However, it becomes a different situation when my house is targeted. Headmaster Snape had never taken kindly to Gryffindors and the lions that are ever so royally decking the halls is a clue in our direction. Professor Carrow and Professor Carrow will not be kind to you in the weeks and months to come."

"I'm sorry, professor. We got carried away." Neville said, feeling guilty that his house had become the target. "We were trying to make a difference. Give the little ones hope, y'know?"

Professor McGonagall studied him intently. She put her glasses back on. "Fourth years and up."

Neville raised his head. "Pardon?"

"No one below year four shall be participating in your group. Whatever you and your friends are doing, stay safe. And don't get caught."

Neville stared at her. "You aren't going to tell Snape?"

"I don't have the slightest idea of what you're talking about." The professor cocked her head. "Last night the Gryffindors were right where I left them at curfew in the common room. There was no activity from them last night. As far as I know, they slept soundly throughout the entire heist."

Neville was gaping.

The professor looked at him coolly from over her glasses. "Close your mouth, Longbottom, there are beetles in here." She sighed. "Don't act so shocked. It may surprise you, but us teachers are fighting for the same things you're preaching."

"No, I didn't think-" Neville began sheepishly.

She shook a finger at him. "This is your school, protect it. And I don't want any notifications from the Headmaster about negative Gryffindor behavior. Understand?"

Neville nodded dumbly.

"Good. Now hurry on to your next class, Longbottom."

Neville rose from his chair and gave her a small smile. He collected his belongings and made his way to the door.

"And Longbottom? Please inform Mister Finnegan that the bottoms of his shoes bear a brightly colored substance similar to that used for the vandalism. We wouldn't want him being falsely accused of something he took no part in, would we?"

* * *

 **Thank you for your kind feedback, I really appreciate it! Until next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

Neville had heard whispers of excitement about Dumbledore's Army throughout the halls but nothing could've prepare him for the number of people in the Room of Requirement that night.

He was speechless when he saw the amount of people staring back at him. They were all huddled in small groups composed mainly of people from the same houses. Some bore looks of curiosity, others of skepticism. Ginny, unable to stop the satisfied smile from spreading across her face, stepped in for him.

"Welcome," she spread her arms wide, "to Dumbledore's Army."

Immediately, the tension was shattered and excited whispers rose from the crowd as everyone began to clap.

"That graffiti was amazing," a fifth year girl with thick, curly dark hair said loudly above the voices. Neville recognized her as Romilda Vane.

"Wicked," a fourth year Ravenclaw agreed.

The original members of the DA broke into smiles at the praise. Seamus gave a small bow to the crowd.

"Hello everyone," Neville gave a nod to the crowd as everyone took their seats. He squeezed his hands shut to stop his fingers from shaking. "Thank you for coming. Right now a piece of parchment is being passed around for you to sign your name on."

Sally Anne Perks stopped in the middle of inspecting the page, quill held cautiously in her hand. "We aren't going to break out in boils if we sign this, are we?"

Neville allowed a smile to play across his lips at the reference made to Marietta Edgecombe. "No, nothing like that. Marietta deserved what she got, but this paper isn't charmed."

"Then why are we signing it?" Emma Vanity asked suspiciously once Sally Anne had finished writing and passed her the quill and paper.

"It's your contract," Ginny replied. "We ask for nothing more than your loyalty."

Her answer settled well with the crowd and soon the paper was being shuffled from person to person.

"Well, welcome, everybody. Whether you heard about the DA from your friends or saw our messages to the school, we thank you for coming. Some of you may know us as Dumbledore's Army. While the namesake of our group is gone, we're keeping his spirit alive. Our founders may be missing, but that's even more motivation for us to keep the DA alive. Our goal is to protect this school and, more importantly, stand up for our beliefs."

"Where is Harry Potter?" A girl who barely looked older than fourteen piped up from the front of the group.

Neville gulped. He looked to Ginny, who was biting her lip. "We don't know. But I'm sure we're all hoping that he's out there, alive and well. I'm sure that whatever he's doing right now will eventually save us."

"So what? We're just going to wait around for Potter to come back and rescue us?" Jack Sloper shouted as the crowd was filled with worried whispers.

"Absolutely not," Neville said icily, holding his hand out to prevent Ginny from answering. "Harry Potter's gone right now. He may not be dead, but he's not here. We're just going to have to survive without him. We've done it before and we can do it again. He was the DA's leader, but now we're going to have to function without him. We don't need him." He winced at his words. Ginny stopped glaring at Sloper and turned her fury onto Neville. His guilt grew when he saw tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes.

"Then who's going to lead us?" She asked him loudly, crossing her arms.

"Neville will, of course." Parvati stepped in between them, gently tugging Ginny away from him. "He's done a fine job so far."

Neville went scarlet as murmurs of agreement sprung up. Ginny looked back and forth between him and Parvati, a surprised look on her face.

"I agree," Seamus said loudly, putting his hand up in the air. More voices joined in as the idea of Neville as leader bounced around the room. The original members of the DA were also in agreement as they smiled at Neville and nodded. Neville watched Ginny turn her back to wipe the tears out of her eyes with her sleeve.

"Oi, everybody shut up and let our leader speak." Michael stood up and waved his arms to silence the group. "The floor is yours," he nodded at Neville.

"I appreciate your nomination, Parvati. However, I think we'd do better if each house had a leader. They would preferably be a seventh year student who's been around for longer. I also want these leaders to be selected by their own house." He looked to a now dry-eyed Ginny, who nodded respectfully at him. "This person should be a leader who embodies the values of your house."

"Well, you have my vote for Gryffindor." Seamus said, breaking the silence as people contemplated their choices. Almost immediately there were voices of the younger Gryffindors in agreement.

"Mine too," Parvati smiled and Lavender nodded.

Neville looked at Ginny hopefully. Her hard expression softened and she smiled. "Congratulations, leader of Gryffindor."

"Thank you." Neville addressed the crowd as everyone clapped for him. He smiled bashfully, finally getting a taste of what it was like to be in Harry's position. "Hufflepuff is next."

The group of Hufflepuffs all shared the same surprised look on their faces, as if they never expected to be given a choice. There were shared mumbles between them until Oliver Rivers stood up.

"I nominate Ernie." He declared. Ernie, in turn, turned a deep red that spread to his ears and down his neck.

Hannah jumped to her feet as well, her sheet of blonde hair swinging. "Well _I_ nominate Susan." She said with her hands placed on her hips. Neville willed himself not to stare.

Immediately, the Hufflepuffs broke out into disagreement. Susan and Ernie shared a guilty look as their house members fought. The discord caused by the Hufflepuffs sent a wave of discomfort through the rest of the students.

Finally, Ernie shouted: "Enough!" That was all it took to silence the room. He cleared his throat. "As grateful as I am by some of your nominations, I believe that Susan is far more qualified for such position." He looked to her and smiled fondly. "After all, I wouldn't have joined if she hadn't dragged me along to the first meeting. And I'm ever so grateful that she did."

Susan turned a bright maroon that clashed with her auburn hair. Once the surprise had worn off, she smiled widely. "I'm honored, thank you."

Everyone clapped for Susan and they moved on to Ravenclaw.

"I nominate Terry." Michael shouted at the exact same time Terry had stated: "Michael has my vote." The two glared at each other and then laughed.

"But seriously, Mike's the best leader you'll get out of our house." Terry said.

Michael punched his friend's shoulder. "I'd have to disagree, mate. You'd fare better than me."

Neville chuckled. "What does everyone else have to say?"

The Ravenclaws looked torn between the two nominations. Luna gently raised her hand and stood up. "No disrespect towards Michael but Terry is more level-headed. He has my vote." More voices rose from the Ravenclaws until everyone was in agreement.

"Congrats, Terry." Neville said as everyone clapped.

He smiled humbly. "I won't let you down."

"Congratulations to all of us. We've just taken a significant milestone." Neville said and was met with another round of applause.

Ginny spoke up. "It's getting late and Slytherin patrol activity will pick up in the next half hour. We should all head back to our houses."

Neville nodded. "Agreed." Voices of protest rose up from the crowd. He smiled. "We'll be meeting back here next week, same time and same place. No need to worry."

The Ravenclaws left first. Michael, Terry and Anthony all patted him on the back on their way out the door. Luna took the rear and smiled at Neville and waved at Ginny.

Hufflepuffs were next. Hannah lingered in the back of the crowd. As she passed by Neville, she gave him a quick hug, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you." She whispered before running to catch up with Susan.

Neville stood, frozen in place. Parvati, Ritchie and Seamus wolf-whistled. Ginny laughed and linked arms with him. "Come along, loverboy."

* * *

 **Been MIA for a little bit but ya girl is back! Reviews, favorite, follows are always appreciated. Until next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

" _Depulso_!" The stack of books flew backward, hitting the wall and falling to the ground. Neville gave an impressed thumbs up to Lydia Cooden. The fifth year Gryffindor beamed back at him.

"That was great, Lydia. Try it a couple more times and then I think you can move on to Parvati's group." Neville said, reassembling the stack for her. He was tired, very tired. He and Ginny had stayed up late the night before, sifting through spell books from the library. After much discussion, they had come up with a list of twelve spells to begin learning at the meeting. Lots of trial and error was involved, at one point his sleeve was set on fire, but they were satisfied with their selection.

Lydia brandished her wand again and Neville looked on proudly. A couple feet away, Parvati was leading Demelza Robins and Marcus Fenwick in learning a simple bandaging charm. Across the room, Michael and Terry had teamed up and were teaching a dozen members the Patronus Charm. Michael waved his wand and a silvery dolphin erupted from it, circling around Terry's already-present gazelle. The crowd oohed and aahed. Susan occupied one corner of the room and was in the process of explaining _H_ _omenum Revelio_ to a group of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. Ernie was located in another corner, teaching his group about shield spells.

"How're we doing on time, Gin?" Neville called out, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

Ginny checked her watch. "It's quarter to ten. Slytherin patrols stopped at nine thirty and they'll resume again at ten."

"Gotcha. Oi, listen up!" The activity in the Room of Requirement died down as everybody turned to Neville and Ginny. "We're going to end tonight right now, great job everybody. We'll pick up where we left off next week. I want everybody to come to the next meeting with at least three useful spells they want to learn. Thanks for a great meeting."

Dumbledore's Army cheered. They quickly split off into small groups of twos and threes arranged by house. A wave of Ravenclaws left first. Anthony and Michael shared their goodbye with Neville before slipping out the door. The Hufflepuffs exited next in tight clusters, filing out until it was just the Gryffindors left.

"Great job, captain. See you in the morning." Ginny winked at Neville before ushering Jimmy Peakes and Natalie MacDonald out the door. Neville waited until the rest had left before muttering "Knox!" and leading the two girls in his group out the door.

"Great meeting tonight, Neville!" A sixth year that he knew as Emma Vanity told him brightly as the three of them walked down the staircase.

"Really? Thanks." Neville said, trying not to sound pleased. "It wasn't all me, I can't take all the credit."

"Well, you deserve recognition." Savannah, Alicia Spinnet's fourth year sister, said sweetly. "You're our new Harry Potter!"

Neville chuckled. "Thanks Savannah. I wouldn't go as far as to say that but I'm glad that me, Terry and Susan are filling the spot he left."

"You're doing a wonderful job," Emma assured him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"That isn't Longbottom, is it?" A voice from behind them made Neville suddenly freeze. His fear came true as he saw Montague, a foul faced Slytherin, approaching them, flanked by two of his housemates. He recognized Goyle as one of them, the other was unknown to him.

"You're not supposed to be lurking the halls at this hour, I may have to report you lot." Montague sneered. His eyes darted to Emma and Savannah, who had emerged from behind Neville. "And what's this? Having a little rendezvous, are we?"

Goyle and the other Slytherin laughed goolishy. Neville could feel the nerves building up in his body. He looked around subtly, hoping to see a way out.

"Who knew you had game, Longbottom? Though this one is a little young, don't you think?" He made a disapproving sound and poked Savannah with his wand. She swatted at it angrily.

"These two had detention tonight but were nervous walking around the halls this late so Professor McGonagall told me to find them and walk them back to the Gryffindor common room." Neville said quickly before Savannah could speak. He lowered his eyes so the Slytherin couldn't see his fearful expression.

Montague leaned in and Neville could smell his foul breath as he opened his mouth. "Your Head of House should know that only Slytherin prefects are allowed to walk the halls past nine o'clock."

"She didn't want to bother you with such a minor request." Neville lied through gritted teeth. He could sense Emma's nervousness and Savannah's growing temper and hoped that the two of them would follow his lead.

"I don't believe that for a bloody second." Montague barked out a laugh. Neville winced and waited for what was going to come next. "I think these ladies here are scared of us."

"No that's not what-" Neville was stopped by a sniffle from his left. He turned to see that it had come from Emma, who was wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her uniform.

"That's kind of you to lie for us, Neville, but you know the truth." She said breathily, hiding her face. "Savannah and I knew that detention would run late so we begged Neville to bring us back. Nobody knew about it but us."

Neville opened his mouth but was once again was interrupted. As if done by magic, Savannah suddenly had tears running down her cheeks. "We're sorry, it won't happen again." She seamlessly added on in a choked voice.

Two of the Slytherins had suspicious glares on their faces but Montague was grinning.

"We should report this to the Headmaster." Goyle murmured.

"Nonsense, Goyle. No point in reporting such an insignificant event to the Headmaster. I think these ladies have learned their lesson, haven't they?" Montague smirked, playing with the hem of Emma's skirt. She yanked it out of his grip with a scowl as Savannah nodded vigorously. He turned back to the other Slytherins and jerked his head down the hall. "Let's go, boys. Patrol is ending soon." He spun on his heels and walked down the hall towards the dungeons. The unknown Slytherin boy scurried after him.

Goyle yanked Neville's tie as he walked past and pulled the Gryffindor close. "Make sure this doesn't happen again Longbottom, yeah?" He hissed.

Neville nodded quickly, pulling himself out of Goyle's grip. He ushered Savannah and Emma away from the Slytherins as quickly as they could. The three of them hastily hurried towards the Gryffindor Common Room, not speaking until they had climbed through the portrait hole.

"That was too close," Neville gasped.

"I hate Slytherins," Savannah mumbled under her breath, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

"Where'd you two learn to cry like that?" Neville demanded.

Savannah and Emma looked at each other and shrugged. "It's a girl thing," they chorused.

They were interrupted by Ginny storming down the girl's dormitory staircase towards them, already wearing her dressing gown. "Where the hell have you been?" She demanded, finally reaching them and wrapping her arms around Savannah. "Your sister would've killed me if you got hurt in any way." She addressed the fourth year.

"We're only a little late. It's fine, Ginny." Van said, her voice muffled by Ginny's shoulder. She rolled her eyes but accepted the hug anyway.

"We ran into a couple of Slytherins patrolling the halls," Neville explained. "We're just going to have to get better at timing the ends of meetings."

Ginny sighed, nodding. "You're right." She hooked arms with Savannah and Emma, guiding them towards the girl's dormitories. "It's late. Get to bed, Nev."

"Yeah, I'll do that. Night girls." He waved and watched them disappear up the staircase before collapsing at a desk chair in the corner of the common room with a heavy sigh. It was too close of a call for his liking. If it was any Slytherin other than Montague, they would've turned them in to Snape for sure. He shuddered to think what Malfoy would've done. Neville was determined to make sure that an event like that would never happen again. With a plan in mind, he grabbed a loose piece of parchment and a quill from the desk and began to work.

* * *

"What is this?" Parvati asked, clearly confused when Neville slapped a piece of parchment in front of her the next day.

"What does it look like?" Neville whispered, glancing to make sure that Alecto wasn't looking at him. He was relieved to see that she was sitting at her desk, paging through their awful Ministry-issued Muggle Studies textbook.

Parvati studied the paper for a little while then said decidedly, "it's a schedule, complete with routes of the castle."

"What're the pairings?" Seamus leaned over Parvati to get a look at the list.

"That's something that I have yet to discuss with Ginny, Terry, and Susan. To address your earlier answer, yes it is a schedule, Parvati. I don't want anything like last night to happen again. It's just too risky, we can't get caught by the Slytherins."

"Stop talking!" Alecto shrieked from her desk, rising up from her chair suddenly. Neville yanked the parchment off the table and slipped it into his sleeve. Parvati and Seamus immediately slumped in their seats, returning to working on the assignment originally given to them.

"Distracting other students, are we, Longbottom?" Alecto dismounted the platform her desk was on. She walked down the aisle of desks, dragging her wand across the wooden tabletops. Immediately the parchment that the students were working on caught fire.

Lavender shrieked, batting at her flaming paper with the textbook. Seamus cursed and pulled out his wand, uttering a spell that only made the fire grow bigger. Finally Parvati shouted " _aguamenti!"_ and aimed her wand at her paper first, then at the fiasco that was Seamus and Lavender's desk. She turned to the professor furiously. "We weren't done with those." She said, stating the obvious.

"What a pity. Guess you'll have to start all over." Alecto sneered, then added "don't let me catch you being a distraction again, Longbottom. I was feeling nice this time. Next time it'll be your hair, not your assignment. Understand?"

"Understood," Neville muttered, averting his eyes.

"Good." Alecto spun around and slinked back to her desk. "You kiddies are much worse than I thought you would be. Seems like I'll have to do something about that."

* * *

 **I feel like Montague would've graduated before Neville's 7th year buuuuuut I couldn't think of any Slytherins so here we are lol. Hope people are still interested in this story because I've got a ton of stuff written for it! Until next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9

The next Dumbledore's Army Meeting was even more packed than the last two. Though the Room of Requirement was large and forgiving with its space, it seemed like everyone was squeezed together. Neville felt jittery as he clutched his plan in his hand. As the crowd began to quiet, Neville handed the parchment to Luna and stood up to address the group.

"Glad to see we haven't lost anyone yet. What we're about to discuss might change your mind about being part of this group, but we hope it'll only make you want to be in Dumbledore's Army more." He glanced at Susan and Terry, who nodded encouragingly.

"We're beginning to realize how dangerous our mission is, and we want to expel any kind of danger that we can. Last meeting me and two other Gryffindors were almost caught by Slytherins. The Common Rooms are far away from our meeting spot and we can't risk getting caught. Hence our introduction of house partnerships. Each of you will receive a partner from another house. This is someone who you will learn to trust with your life and will become your brother or sister in battle."

Stewart Ackerley raised his hand timidly. "You aren't talking about an Unbreakable Vow, are you?"

Neville nodded. "I am."

Excited whispers broke out amongst the large crowd. Some looked uneasy while others seemed intrigued.

"Don't you think that's little extreme?" Romilda Vane asked over the voices. She was sitting on the windowsill, arms crossed, looking skeptical. "We're only kids." Several voices rose in agreement.

Neville shook his head coolly. "No, I don't. In my fifth year, Hermione Granger had the members sign a piece of parchment, kind of like a contract. Marietta Edgecomb, a sixth year Ravenclaw at the time, broke the promise that came along with signing. Needless to say, her skin has never been the same." A few seventh years snickered, remembering the SNEAK branded witch. "But that was back when we were all a bunch of kids who wanted to learn about new spells. This year, it's serious. We're fighting for our lives here, and we aren't kids anymore. There is a war out there, and it's going to reach Hogwarts sooner or later. We aren't safe here, we aren't safe anywhere. An Unbreakable Vow is a promise to stay loyal, it's not a death contract unless you make it one. Dumbledore's Army isn't a club of teenagers who covers their school with graffiti, we are fighting for rights and are standing up for what we believe in. So anyone who isn't ready for this kind of commitment," he gestured to the door, "I ask you to please leave."

His heart swelled when the group of students made no movement to leave. "I'm not asking you to do this right away, but I also can't have you waiting until you're best friends. Maybe you two hit it off right away, maybe you realize that you're opposites. I don't care, I'm looking for trust, not compatibility. A vow like this comes with the responsibility of trust. When you and your partner are ready for that commitment, come to the leader of your house, me, Susan or Terry. We'll be your Bonder.

"Your partner might be an acquaintance, or it could be someone you don't know. Hell, this might be the first time you've ever heard their name. But we want coalition and we want trust. Are you ready for this?" He asked and was met with a chorus of " _yeses_ ". Neville nodded at Luna and she took out a roll of parchment from under her arm and began to read.

"Andrew Kirke, Wayne Hopkins. Orla Quirke, Natalie MacDonald. Seamus Finnegan, Terry Boot. Hannah Abbott, Demelza Robins. Sally Anne Perks, Su Li. Anthony Goldstein, Ritchie Coote. Stewart Ackerley, Owen Cauldwell…."

Neville and Ginny looked on in admiration as the partners found each other and introduced themselves.

Ginny smiled and squeezed his arm. "You did great, Neville." She then excused herself to go find Megan Jones.

Neville felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Ernie Macmillan. "It looks like we're partners."

Neville smiled. "That's great."

Ernie hesitantly returned the smile. "I know that I have a pretty big track record of questioning you Gryffindors on...everything, but I just wanted you to know that I have no doubts on where my loyalty lies with the DA."

"I'm glad to hear it," Neville extended his hand and Ernie took it.

"I must say you made a convincing speech up there a little bit ago." The Hufflepuff cocked his head. "You're turning into quite the leader of the DA, you know."

Neville blushed. "I can't replace Harry, but I'm taking the responsibility that he left."

Ernie patted his back. "You're doing a fine job."

Neville was surprised, then pleased. "Thank you."

"Now, as for this Unbreakable Vow-"

"Let's wait," Neville said quickly. "Just for a little bit. I want to get to know you better."

"Chap," Ernie clapped his shoulder, "I was thinking the same exact thing."

Neville smiled and returned the gesture. He then raised his voice. "Alright, you lot, listen up!"

The chattering slowly died down as people turned towards him. "We want to use these partnerships to the best of our ability. If you're out late at night running away from some Slytherins, if you're getting away from the Carrows, if your dormitory is too far away and you need to be somewhere safe, if you can't make it to the Hospital Wing, you and your partner should go to the closest common room of the two that you can. I know that the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw common room locations are pretty spread out. I don't want any of you walking to your room alone, not when it's the Slytherins that are on patrol. So use whatever means you can to get back safely. Invisibility cloaks, charms, I don't care. We've learned in the past that you can get into another house's common room if a person of that house lets you in willingly."

"So you're saying that we get to use other houses' dormitories and common rooms?" Romilda asked.

"If necessary, yes." Neville replied. "This strategy got Terry and Seamus out of trouble a couple weeks ago."

"Wicked." Romilda grinned. "I always wanted to see the other dormitories."

Neville allowed himself to grin. "Only if necessary, Romilda, don't abuse this power. I've going to talk with McGonagall and see if she, Flitwick, and Sprout are willing to cover for us as best they can. After all, we're all on the same side."

Everybody cheered at that. Neville dismissed the meeting. He felt a sort of joy seeing the light in people's eyes as they passed by him and out the door. Terry and Seamus came up to him and pulled him to the side.

"Bond us, will you, mate?" Seamus asked as he and Terry rolled up their sleeves.

"Of course." Neville looked to Ernie. "I'll catch you later, mate." Ernie nodded and ran to catch up with Susan and Hannah. Neville let his eyes drift to Hannah's swaying blonde hair. He had found himself doing that a lot lately. He shook his head before turning back to his friends.

"Do your magic." Seamus nodded towards Neville's wand.

* * *

"What's that?" Neville asked, looking up from his Potions homework as Ginny entered the Common Room the next evening. There was a box stuffed under her arm.

"Dunno." Ginny plopped down on the couch next to Lavender, who lifted her eyes from her homework to greet her. "It came for me when I was in the Owlery. There's no return on it."

"Maybe it's dangerous," Seamus said excitedly, throwing his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook aside and leaning forward in his chair. "Maybe a Death Eater sent it to you."

Parvati hit him over the head with her book. "Don't sound so excited, Seamus." She then addressed Ginny, "he's right though, it might be dangerous."

"Only one way to find out," Ginny said cheerfully, tearing the box open and peering in. Neville and Lavender exchanged nervous glances.

"What is it?" Seamus asked, practically bouncing in his seat.

"It's a magic camera," Lavender said, surprised, looking over Ginny's shoulder.

"It looks like George's old camera," Ginny said and reached for it.

"Wait!" Neville yelped, grabbing her wrist. "It could be cursed! Remember what happened to Katie Bell?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Would it make you feel better if I go get my Sneakoscope?"

Neville thought for a second, then nodded reluctantly. Ginny jumped up from the couch and dumped the box into Lavender's lap, who shrieked and shoved it onto the floor. She sprinted up the girl's dormitory staircase, red hair swinging behind her.

"This seems fishy." Parvati squinted at the mystery box. "Why would a mystery person send Ginny a camera?"

"It could've been Voldemort," Lavender said nervously. "Or Malfoy, or Lestrange, or-"

"You're worrying too much," Ginny called as she trotted down the stairs, clutching the Sneakoscope. "All of our packages are searched before entering Hogwarts, would they really let me receive a cursed box?"

I wouldn't put it past the Carrows." Lavender muttered.

"Alright, let's test this out." Ginny set the Sneakoscope on the floor next to the box as everybody held their breath, waiting for it to light up and spin. It stayed stoic. Ginny looked up and grinned at them. She grabbed the box and sat back on the couch again.

"Well it's not cursed." Seamus shrugged, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"There's still something weird about it," Parvati said, pulling out her wand. " _Aparecium!"_

Immediately the facade fell away, revealing a smaller, older camera.

"What did you do?" Ginny cried.

"Just a revealing charm." Parvati held up her hands in defense. "I was totally right, wasn't I?" She said, sounding proud.

"Hey, I recognize this," Seamus held out his hand and Ginny passed it to him. "This is a muggle camera."

"Why would somebody send you a muggle camera? And why would they disguise it as a magic camera?" Neville frowned, taking the object from Seamus and studying it.

"I bet the Carrows would've thrown it away if they saw it was a muggle camera. You know how they feel about muggles."

"To answer your other question, Neville, I know exactly what this is." Lavender grabbed the camera, recognition beaming in her eyes. "This is Colin Creevey's camera." She poked at a latch and it popped open, revealing a piece of paper.

Ginny gaped as Lavender gave her the paper. "How the hell did you know that?"

Lavender rolled her eyes. "Do you know how many photoshoots I had with him over the years? I was his favorite model. He always told me that I looked like some muggle star, I can't remember her name."

"Colin," Ginny whispered, opening the note. A wave of sadness hit Neville as he wondered where Colin was.

Parvati seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Poor Colin," she muttered, "he's probably on the run right now. With all the other blacklisted muggleborns, no doubt."

"Ginny?" Neville asked tentatively. Tears were welling up in her eyes and she clutched the paper with white knuckles. When she had finished reading it she passed it to him silently. He took it and read it aloud.

" _Dear Ginny,_

 _I hope this package ends up finding you. As you may expect, I'm on the run right now with Dennis. Our parents are in hiding, we've left them behind in France. I wish we were at Hogwarts with you right now but it's for the best that we aren't. I sent you my camera with a favor attached, please keep it until I can come out of hiding. I don't want anything happening to it and you're the person I'd trust you to keep it safe. Use it to document what's going on at Hogwarts with Snape as Headmaster, I can only imagine what that must be like. Please don't try and write to me, I don't want you getting in trouble. But I've still got my galleon so I can keep up with DA news. Don't worry too much about me and Dennis, I think that everything is going to be fine real soon._

 _Stay safe and long live Harry Potter!_

 _Colin"_

"Bless his heart." Lavender murmured. "Thank God he's alive."

"I miss him so much," Ginny whimpered, wiping furiously at her eyes. Lavender wrapped her arms around her. "I wish we could help him."

"We can help him." Parvati leaned forward and clasped Ginny's hand in her own. "He gave you an important job, Ginny. You have to keep his memory alive at Hogwarts while he's not here. It's like he said, he trusts you above everyone else to take care of his camera. Do you think you can do that?"

Ginny held up the camera, looking at it with watery eyes. "I think so." A ghost of a smile appeared on her face.

"Good. Now come on, let's get you ready for bed." Parvati and Lavender helped her up from the couch and guided her towards the girl's dormitories, leaving Neville and Seamus alone with their unfinished homework.

Seamus dragged his hand down the side of his face and sighed. "I always liked that Creevey bloke. A little pushy sometimes sure, but he had a good heart."

"It's not fair that he can't be here right now." Neville fumed, hands clenching into fists.

"Hey." Seamus put a hand on his shoulder. "It's all going to be over soon. We'll get Colin out of hiding and things will go back to the way they were. I can assure you that if the DA can help the situation in any way then we will."

"You're right." Neville relaxed, sinking back into his armchair. "You're right, of course."


End file.
